Tyrant Espada
by JessesanMan
Summary: He never ate Souls, Humans, or Shinigami. He had only ever craved other Hollows. He had evolved to become the ultimate predator, then, upon becoming Vasto Lorde, he became a leader. When a position in the Espada opens up, he steps forward to fill the seat, and advance his own power. Rated M for adult language, violence, and some sexuality.
1. Prologue 1: Cannabalized

He looked left then right. Everything seemed so…new. The creature opened and closed its jaws, also new. He walked over to a still pond and looked at his reflection.

'Oh, badass!' his mind exclaimed. 'I'm a motherfucking T-rex!'

While most would agree he certainly looked like some kind of skull-wearing, ghostly T-rex, others who knew better would've immediately known that he was a Hollow, a twisted soul-eating creature. If the bone mask that made up his head didn't give it away, then the large hole going left to right where his heart should be would.

As he continued admiring his new form (he was sure it was new, he couldn't remember much), someone came along. He was wearing a black kimono and had a katana-like blade in his hand. The saurian Hollow looked at him then decided to speak.

"Hey, 'sup."

"Damn, you're a big one. You must be intelligent too, to be talking to me."

"I'd like to think of myself as smart."

The man, a Shinigami, raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to start taunting me and try to eat me?"

"Not really. You don't look very appetizing. Also, pretty sure I was a human not too long ago. Of course, I'm not sure how long it was. Can't really remember anything before five minutes ago."

The Shinigami shook his head. "I can't believe I'm having a conversation with a Hollow of all things."

A screech came out of nowhere and both beings turned to see another Hollow, this one red, boar-like, and with a tiki-like mask.

"Oh hey," the saurian said as his mouth began to water. "That over there actually looks very tasty."

This probably shocked the Shinigami more than anything else about the strange hollow. "Huh?"

Before he could ask anything else though, the predator had already launched itself forward to the unsuspecting Hollow and clamped its huge jaws onto its back. The Hollow cried out again before being bitten in three separate parts, one of which was immediately swallowed by the victorious beast. As he began munching down on the front half of the now dead Hollow, the Shinigami decided to report what he had just seen to his superiors. It was a good excuse to get away from a Hollow capable of killing another one that large in a single bite.

* * *

><p>To say that the Gotei Thirteen were baffled was an understatement. It was known that Hollows would sometimes cannibalize each other, and that such was a part of some Hollow forms development, but for a Hollow to not only ignore a Shinigami but an entire Rukongai village was unheard of in even the wildest tales. But here it was, footage, compliments of Squad Twelve, showing the saurian Hollow actively chasing down and eating its brethren in favor of all the souls it was surrounded by. In fact, it wasn't even interested in the other souls when there weren't any other hollows to eat. It would just wander aimlessly until it sensed more prey, and then moved in to hunt.<p>

"A most strange development," Mayuri Kurotsuchi commented. "A Hollow that not only prefers its own kind to other souls, but outright ignores the presence of said souls. It's as though he see them as insects at times. The only casualties he's caused has been those foolish enough to not get out of the way of being trampled."

"The hell's wrong with it?" Vice-captain Renji Abarai, one of the few Vice-Captains asked in to the meeting, said.

"The only physical defect I've discovered is that its hole is side to side rather than front to back. Of course, this could just be because of its body structure, as it still goes through the location of the heart. If I had samples I could probably analyze it. Of course, it'd be a waste to end such an amazing phenomenon if it can be helped."

The Captain General Yamamoto spoke up at this. "The fact that a Hollow-killing Hollow has appeared is not one of great concern, but rather one of curiosity. While I'd prefer to kill every Hollow in existence, this one's uniqueness has made me request the Central Forty-Six look into the situation and decide how we permanently deal with the beast."

"So, what do we do in the meantime, Yama-jii?" Shunsui Kyoraku asked.

"While it hasn't ever caused any Shinigami harm, it's proven itself powerful. Many Hollows who we've had trouble with for months were killed and eaten by the one now called the Cannibal Tyrant. Some of these Hollows were such a problem that I had considered sending high-ranked seated officers to clear them. One of them could've proved a challenge for a vice captain."

"Heh," Zaraki said, actually interested for once. "Say, if the eggheads upstairs decide we kill it, let me be the one to do it in. Sounds like this one might be interesting."

"If it comes to it, I will keep that in mind. For now though, I want all of you to keep one eye towards the Cannibal Tyrant. It is the biggest unknown any of us have seen in a long time.

Cannibal Tyrant was having fun. Three Hollows were running from him as fast as they could, but he was only going at about half speed.

"Hahaha, I hope you taste better than you flee! I can feel the fear radiating off of you! Give me a good chase and work up my appetite!"

"Damn bastard!" a gorilla-like Hollow yelled back at him. "We're not supposed to be eating each other!"

"Says you!" The saurian leapt forward and chomped down on the gorilla Hollow, its hands and legs being the only thing outside of his jaws. He swallowed, never missing a beat in his chase after the other two.

"Shit! He ate Zed!" the frogish one said.

"I can't run any faster! He's just playing with us at this point!" the white and black striped humanoid one said.

As their hopes of possible escaping the clutches of the Cannibal Tyrant vanished, they stumbled into a strange sight.

"What happened he- ARGH!"

* * *

><p>Rukia and Renji were both on a joint patrol when they stumbled upon what looked like a field full of dead Hollows. Both were stunned at the sight of the carnage, and the one left standing above it all.<p>

"The Cannibal Tyrant!" both yelled.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," the Hollow said cheerfully.

"Did you…" Renji looked around. The bodies were uncountable. "Did you do this?"

"Me? Nah. It was already like this when I got here. I chased two here and ate them, then four came up and actually tried to fight me. I ate them too. I was starting to eat the bodies here but I felt full. Feels weird here. Thought you Shinigami might've been the ones to kill 'em, but I guess not." He picked up a lacerated Hollow body then dropped it. "Eh, it's just not the same if I don't hunt them first."

"Are we seriously talking to a Hollow right now, Renji?" Rukia asked.

"Well, reports say he can be reasoned with to a certain degree. Some guys have actually pointed him in the direction of hard to track Hollows in order to flush them out. He's kinda like a bloodhound when he gets close enough."

"Ah, thanks!" the clueless Hollow said. "I've been meaning to ask you guys, any idea how- Whoa, this ain't normal!"

The two stared wide-eyed as the Hollow and the countless corpses around it began floating up and clumping together.

"I don't like this!" Cannibal Tyrant bellowed before the all started to fuse into one.

* * *

><p>"You say you two saw with your very own eyes, Cannibal Tyrant was turned into a Gillian along with several dead Hollows?"<p>

"Yes, Soutaicho," they both answered.

"And that Gillian almost immediately changed again into an Adjuchas?"

"Yes, Soutaicho."

The old man groaned. "And you're certain it was still the Cannibal Tyrant?"

"Yes, Soutaicho," Renji said alone this time. "It looked almost exactly like he did before, except he was twice as big and had larger arms with sharp claws."

"Before he stepped through a Garganta," Rukia continued, "he said something about being 'weirded out' and then looked at us and said good-bye. Honestly, I never expected a Hollow to act in such a…'friendly manner' is the only way I can describe it."

The two were dismissed and the captains all stood in silence for a moment.

"Well," Sousuke Aizen said, "It has certainly been an interesting few months. I'm sure we'll all miss Cannibal Tyrant cleaning up for us constantly."

"Yes. Hollow or not, the creature had put off a lot of stress made in the patrols. However, nothing will change with him gone. Everyone return to your duties, I will inform Central Forty-Six that there is no longer a need to worry over the Cannibal Tyrant. Dismissed."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So it begins. These first few chapters are going to be pretty fast-paced, as it's not going to do much to change the main story of Bleach until the Arrancar arcs and I don't want to go off repeating what we already know. After the first two arcs though, chapters will get longer, descriptions will get a little more detailed, and it's pretty much going to become AU after the time of the White Invasion.<strong>

**Also, I have no idea how to indent paragraphs here.**


	2. Prologue 2: Meeting the Lordes

'Man, how long have I been here?' Tyrant asked himself as he chewed his latest meal. The Cannibal part had kind of become redundant seeing as almost all Hollows here were trying to eat each other. A couple had tried to eat him on his first day. He hadn't appreciated that, and showed his discontent with such treatment by beating them both to pulp and then eating one of them in front of the other one alive. He ate the other, but only after telling it off for trying to eat an obviously superior predator. That had been at least a year ago, but it was probably longer than that.

Suddenly Tyrant heard a loud commotion. He followed the sound and crested a dune to see a strange sight. There was a dead serpentine Hollow, some kind of deer-like Hollow, and then a Hollow standing upright like a- 'Ohmagawdthosearetits?!'

The shock caused Tyrant to lose his footing and he slipped and fell down into the dune. The two Hollows looked at him curiously, as he had ended up on his back with his feet in the air.

This was most certainly awkward. He just hoped the woman-like one wasn't hungry; he could feel her power. "Uh, hi, uh, miss. It is 'miss' right?"

The humanoid hollow stared at him blankly. "I am female, if that is what you mean."

'As if that wasn't obvious. I was actually making sure about it not being Misses or something.'

"I, uh, am also female," the deer said in a definitely feminine voice.

'Less obvious.' "Nice to meet you both. I'm going back on my feet now." The saurian righted himself and stood back on his feet. "I wasn't really aware we Hollows had gender."

"Most females are picked off as they are perceived as weaker," the humanoid said.

"Meh, I just eat whatever's there when I'm hungry. Speaking of which, gonna eat that snake guy?" he indicated the dead hollow.

"No. Help yourself." She started walking away, the deer-like Hollow right behind here. He watched them for a moment.

"Name's Tyrant."

She looked back with one eye. "Tia Harribel."

After he had eaten, Tyrant thought back to the odd Hollow. He knew immediately that she was far stronger than him as soon as they had met. She almost seemed to be another kind of creature entirely. Then he recalled her name.

"Tia Haribel? A first and last name? Not a descriptive name or an alias. A regular old name. Hm." He thought to himself for a while. "I like Roder. Roder Tyranus. Yeah, that'll work. From now on, my name is Roder Tyranus."

* * *

><p>Roder was chasing a rather quick Adjuchas down. He had been feeling hungrier than normal lately, now he just wanted to eat everything and anything. He had even tried chewing on a crystal tree once when he couldn't find any other Hollows to satiate his hunger. The six-legged Hollow looked back, then tried to speed up.<p>

"Oh no you don't!" He felt something build up within him and let it out.

Roder wasn't sure what he had just done, but a green energy blast fired from his mouth and hit the horse-like creature, making it stumble and fall.

"Gotcha!" He snatched up the Hollow by its front, chomped down and swallowed. Before he even had time to contemplate the fact that he had basically just fired a laser from his mouth, he felt something come over himself.

'Oh god, I'm weirding out again! Wait, last time I weirded out like this that change that made me bigger and sent me here happened! What the heck's gonna happen this time?!'

After a moment, the weird feeling passed, but now he felt off-balance. He fell back and landed on his rump the caught himself from any further falling with his arms. Once he was steady in his position he began noticing that he had a rump and arms.

"Holy sweet cakes!" He looked at his new human-like arms and what was connected to them. "HANDS!" He started patting himself and feeling up and down his body. His head was human, with some semi-long hair and something like a facemask covering his mouth. Most of his body was shaped normally, but everything seemed to be covered in leather armor, some parts harder than others. A look at himself told him that it was a combination of light green and blue.

"Huh, kinda reminds me of Tia, 'cept she was white and blue and had those thigh-highs. Those sexy thigh-hi- … Huh? Sexy? I never thought of anything as... Wait, am I human now or something? No, still got a hole in my stomach. Not hungry anymore though. Yeah, she didn't want to eat that time. I don't even feel a bit hungry. Not a craving. Whatever she and I are, we must not get hungry."

As he contemplated exactly what had happened, he didn't notice the six figures surrounding him and closing in on him.

"And those few weird seconds I was way up in the air must been some kind of out of body experience I was having while all the bodies fused to me. And after all that eating, I…" He noticed the six humanoids surrounding him. "Uh, hi?"

A feminine one pointed a large blade similar to the one Halibel had at him. "State your name and business. Quickly, we have no time for fools and foolish answers." She had blue eyes and long blond hair hanging down her back. Her Hollow skin was white-based but had black stylized etchings all the way down except at the side of her waist and chest where it appeared as more of a black corset. She seemed to be wearing a dress that split above her right thigh, not in a sexualized fashion though. The split seemed to exist solely to allow more freedom of movement.

"Uh, I'm Roder Tyranus. As for business… Existing?"

"Really?" A large male with golden eyes and red hair that was actually longer than the previous female's brought up his sharp sickle-like claws and held them as Roder's throat. His Hollow skin was red and black striped and was covered in crimson heavy armor. He had a mouth-guard similar to Roder's, only his jutted out like a saw-toothed beak. "Maybe we should close up shop."

"Gulcasa, don't try and frighten the poor thing." The speaker this time was another male, this one smaller than his red-headed counterpart. He seemed to be wearing several cloaks on top of one another topped off with an open robe. His eyes were covered by a Hollow bone plate with virtually no way to see outwards. "We all know he was an Adjuchas only moments ago. Besides, he's telling the truth. He literally has no purpose apart from existing."

"Man, that sucks," a younger, feminine voice said. This one appeared to be a young teenager with eyes and hair the same color as the large male, only her hair was tied up in twintails. She had Hollow bone over her hair like a bonnet and a mask like an eagle's beak over her mouth in the same fashion as the male she resembled. Rather than armor, she had plumes of feathers hanging from her shoulders and around her waist like a skirt. Her coloring was similar to his, only pink where his was red and gray where his was black. "Hey, big bro, don't kill him. It would be pitiful for him to go out like that."

The other two stood off arguing with each other. The feminine one somewhat resembled a traditional miko with long, black hair while the other looked like some kind of white-haired wolf-man. The two's argument escalated until the miko shouted, "Sit!" causing the wolfish Hollow to collapse.

"Don't worry," the young-looking girl said. "He's the only one she can do that to. It's weird, but he deserves it most of the time."

"Okay. So, uh, who are you guys?"

The three around him with vision looked at each other. Seeing as there were no objections, the blond female started. "I am Yggdra Artwaltz. Those two siblings are Gulcasa and Emelia Brongaa. The blind one there is Nessiah Aries."

"It's nice to meet you," the robed man said.

"And those two having a lover's spat over there and Kagome Kikyo and Inu Yasha," Gulcasa said while pointing a thumb behind him.

"We're not lovers!" they both yelled.

"They're lying," Emelia whispered. "I caught them in the act once. They thought everyone was gone and they had some time to themselves. I couldn't bring myself to go back into that cave for a month."

Nessiah giggled a little while Gulcasa outright laughed. Yggdra only lightly smiled and shook her head.

"Well, Roder, what is it you plan to do?" Gulcasa asked.

"I hadn't really thought of that. I'm not even sure of what just happened."

"You turned into a Vasto Lorde," Nessiah explained. "The final stage of Hollow evolution. There is first the singular Hollow. These combine to form a Gillian. When one of the Hollow consciences claims dominance the Gillian becomes an Adjuchas. Once an Adjuchas has eaten a certain number of other Adjuchas, it becomes a Vasto Lorde."

Roder scratched his chin. "I remember being a Hollow. I mostly just went around eating other Hollows. I know that was weird since they were always eating souls and such, but that's what I wanted to eat. I kinda remember fusing with a bunch of dead Hollows, but if I was a Gillian I wasn't one for very long, because I turned into an Adjuchas only a few seconds later."

Nessiah nodded. "Odd, but we are quite odd ourselves. The four of us were actually one being before. We never were lower forms of Hollow."

"Really, how'd that happen?"

"Completely my fault. Soul eating sword and all that."

"Eh, don't sweat it Nessiah," Gulcasa said. "You didn't know it was gonna fuse us all into one being and crap us out in one big mess."

"He also didn't suspect it to be used on him," Yddgra added.

"In hindsight, I probably could've done better. Well, your guys made a pretty good Ragnorak without me."

"What about those two?" Roder asked, pointing at the two 'not-lovers' who were now physically fighting, but not very hard.

"They came along pretty normal for the most part, except of course, they did it side by side."

"Eh?"

"Well, how they told us it happened, when one of them had Hollowfied waiting for the other one to die and join them, they allowed themselves to Hollowfy as well. They ate some souls together, became two separate Gillians around the same time, rose to Adjuchas and hunted side by side, then eventually become Vasto Lorde together."

"Then they go and try to play off like they're not in love," Emelia scoffed. "Those two were in love so bad that they still loved each other even after they lost their hearts. It's like some sappy fairy tale, only the prince is a jackass and the princess is a total fake prude. 'Maiden' my butt."

"Sit! Sit! Sit!"

Roder looked over to see that Inu had just about become buried in the sand. Suddenly another emotion he hadn't felt before came up.

"Hehe. Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!" Roder literally couldn't remember the last time he had a good laugh. The others looked at him like he'd gone crazy, but they all smiled anyways.

"Well," Nessiah said, "welcome to the team."

* * *

><p>AN: Now the story is technically a crossover. To explain in case some people don't know,<p>

The four talking to him are from Yggdra Union, a strategy game for the GBA and PSP. Fans of the game probably know what they were talking about.

The other two, if it wasn't obvious, are Inuyasha and Kagome. Kagome's Vasto Lorde name is Kagamoe Kikyo because she eventually ate all the souls within the dead Kikyo, making her more dead.

Some people may not like that I made all these guys Hollows, but I did so with a purpose. Most of that purpose was because the characters I was coming up with were way too similar and I would've been accused of copying them anyway, so I decided to forego that and just use the originals. The rest of the purpose you will have to wait and see. Now I'm glad because I can use the 'sit' joke.

And so it continues.


	3. Prologue 3: From Lord to Sword

**The final part of the prologue. After this, I will be diving into the main story. Things are gonna be short for a while still, but once the Winter War is over, things will get longer, I swear.**

* * *

><p>There wasn't much to do in Hueco Mundo. As Vasto Lorde, they didn't need to eat or drink. Things like basic survival didn't really matter. Occaisionally an Adjuchas would attack them and quickly be dispatched. For a while their only entertainment was each other and their old war stories (in Roder's case, hunting stories) or watching another lover's quarrel between Inu and Kagome. One day though, they saw a trail of dust in the distance.<p>

"Hey, what in the world…" Kagome started.

"Looks like a chase," Inu said as he came up beside her. "Seems to be three chasing one. The one being chased is really small. Two chasing it are human sized, and then the other looks like a giant worm or snake."

"Three-on-one? That hardly seems fair," Roder interjected.

"Things almost never are fair here," Nessiah said.

"Still, we wouldn't be us if we didn't do something," Gulcasa said. "Emelia, fly over and get a closer look. Roder, you're the fastest runner of any of us, so see if you can't catch up."

"Right big bro." The young girl unfurled her feathers like a flying squirrel and took off. Roder nodded and sped down the dune and through the sands.

Meanwhile, Nel was having the time of her life being chased by Pesche, Dondachaka, and Bawa-bawa in their game of Eternal Tag. She was starting to cry a little to make it even more fun when something sped up next to her and ran alongside her. The thing grabbed her and pulled it to its chest.

"I got- Holy-! It's a friggin' baby!"

"Huh? Who're you? Put Nel down."

"Don't worry, little one. I got ya."

The Vasto Lorde sped off with the little green haired girl in tow. Emelia sauntered down right above him.

"Whoa, is that a-"

"Baby? Yeah. Don't ask. Don't know."

The two returned to the rest of their group with the little one and took a second to catch their breath.

"Guys," Roder said calmly. "Look." He held Nel up under her arms for the rest to see, her hood pulled back to show her tiny head and the mask on top. Nel was confused to say the least

Everyone but Nessiah gasped. Kagome then squeed, ran up, and snatched the little one from Roder. She went to rub her against her cheek, and then remembered she had three blades on each cheek, so settled for rubbing her against her forehead.

"Nel wants to breathe!" the little one struggled.

"Oh, I'm sorry! You're just so cute!" Kagome continued to cuddle with the tiny, somewhat miffed Hollow, even as the other three crested the dune.

"Aha!" Pesche shouted as he pointed at the group. "Unhand our dear little Nel-chan you vi- v-v-v-vvvvv-"

"Hey Pesche," Dondachaka said while shivering in fear. "Those guys are Vasto Lorde, don'tcha know."

"V- Vasto Lorde or not, we will not allow you to harm our precious little Nel!"

"Dat's right!" Dondachaka said with resolve, but still shaking.

"Uwah!" Bawa-bawa said, whatever it meant.

"Harm her? I would never hurt something so cute and innocent!" Kagome hugged the little girl tighter, causing her to lose her air again.

"Besides," Roder said, "I saw that little girl bawling her eyes out while you were chasing her."

"Well," Nel started up, having reclaimed her breath again, "see Nel is a masho-kiss so Nel doesn't really start having fun until she's crying."

There was a moment of silence while all the Vasto Lorde sans Nessiah stared at the tike. Gulcasa broke the awkward silence by bursting into a fit of laughter, closely followed by Roder. Inu, however, charged forward and punched both Hollows in the back of the head.

"Even I know not to talk about that kinda stuff in front of a kid! What the hell?"

* * *

><p>Once things had calmed down, the group of Vasto Lorde listened to the 'Sand Siblings' explanation of who they were and what the new Arrancars were. When asked about Nel's size and apparent age they explained it as simply how she had turned out, and so was allowed free roam of Hueco Mundo.<p>

"Well, if Hollows are joining together, and not under Barragan's rule, for the sake of becoming more humanlike, I don't see much a problem with marching up there and joining them myself," Yggdra said.

"Well, if you're going then we better go with you," Gulcasa said. "Besides, watching those two love birds fight has lost its appeal."

"We're not love birds," the 'not' couple shouted.

"Well, I'm going with you, big bro."

"I promised to stay with you from here on out, so I too will join you," Nessiah said.

"Ain't much point in wandering the desert if ya'll aren't there," Roder said. "I'll join ya."

The group looked over at the not-so-secret couple.

"Well, we thought this was as human as we'd get at one time," Kagome said. "Ready to take it one step further?"

Inu nodded. "Wherever you go, I'll follow."

'How do they seriously think we don't know they're in love?' Emilia asked herself.

And so, the group left the Sand Siblings to they're game of Eternal Tag and went to the gates of Los Noches.

* * *

><p>Roder was sleeping, dreaming about his days in Rukongai as a motherfucking T-rex. He had always been snapping up Hollows left and right those days. About half-way between his beginning and turning to a Menos, people had actually grown to love the sight of him. He was something of a hero, almost as much as a captain Shinigami. His presence basically meant the disappearance of Hollows from the area for a few months. He had actually counted the days one time just to see how long it had been. Turned out, he had been stomping around Rukongai somewhere around ten years total. Ten years of happy, mindless hunting. He missed it sometimes, but there was no way to go back. He was Arrancar now. Practically a Shinigami already. It was ironic really. He killed more Hollows as a pure Hollow than he ever had as a hybrid.<p>

"Oh Roder, wake up. Special announcement."

"Hm," Roder opened his eyes to see Nessiah standing over him with his giant book. "What's so special?"

"Remember how Grimmjow took off to the World of the Living with his Fracciones?"

"Yeah, what of it? He back yet?"

"He is, but not his Fracciones?"

Roder was wide awake now. "That…idiot."

"Quite. He's already been punished. They severed his arm and stripped him of his rank."

"They let him live with that? Man, they really want him to suffer." Roder yawned, making his mask fragment, a jaw with tyrannosaur-like teeth, open up. "All right, so what we meetin' on?"

"His replacement of course. Our whole group pushed your name forward."

Roder stood and chuckled. His clothes were almost exactly like Aizen's save for the shorter collar and short sleeves. "You didn't."

"We did. Ever since everyone else first laid eyes on you, we knew you were stronger than all of us. Give it time and you may push your way to the top five."

"Ah, but you know I don't care about power. I've got good food, good drink, and good friends. What more can a man ask for? Still, getting a seat can be good for all of us I guess. The rest of the Numeros wouldn't mess with the friends of an Espada."

"And most definitely not their Fracciones."

Roder almost stopped in his tracks at that. "Would you be willing…?"

"We all would. Like I said, while you may have been the leader in spirit, you are the strongest of us. Both Yggdra and Gulcasa see you as an equal and Inu Yasha respects your strength and honor. The rest of us always follow at least one of them."

Roder groaned in positive acknowledgment as he nodded; a habit one picks up when they live with two blind people.

The two entered the main chamber and met up with their particular group of friends. Some of the lower ranked Espada, their Fracciones, and several scattered Numeros were present.

"So, who are the contenders?" he asked Yggdra. Her mask fragment was now only a tiara, and her clothing resembled her favorite style, battle dress with a right-thigh split and corset over white pants underneath. Her Zanpakuto was a huge sword that didn't look like it could be swung by her thin arms.

"There's you, of course. Aizen said he was considering you even before Gulcasa and I suggested it."

Gulcasa smirked. His mask fragment was a thin line that went across the top of his nose with a few sharp teeth on it. His clothing simply consisted of plain pants and a vest. His Zanpakuto was a large scythe, which unlike his female counterpart people could perfectly imagine him swinging it through a few people. "Then there's some pretty boy named Luppi Antenor."

Yggdra opened her eyes in shock. "Luppi's a boy?! B-but she...he gives such good hair care tips!"

Gulcasa laughed. "Oh man! I thought it was obvious! Thank you, Yggdra, I needed that."

Yggdra, however, was blushing deeply. "He- he saw me in my chemise," she said quietly.

"It's all right," Roder said as he patted her head. "I've seen him before. He's probably not into women anyhow."

A commotion started up as Aizen and his two followers entered. As they took their place, the top four Espada also came up. Roder knew of Stark; the two had spoken on more than one occasion and even played a few games of cards. That and the fact that his lone Fraccion, Lilynette was somewhat friends with Emilia put the two on what one would call speaking terms. He had run into Ulquiorra once or twice. He really only knew his name as that seemed to be the only thing he was willing to share. He had heard that the old man was Barragan Louisenbairn, once-king of Hueco Mundo. Another irony of the world; King of Hollows, servant to a Shinigami. The woman he didn't know, but she set a spark of familiarity in him. Also, her choice of clothing was rather peculiar.

"Good god, she looks like she ready to sell herself on the corner," Yggdra whispered. Yeah, that was one way of putting it. Kagome had to restrain herself from not putting her hands in front of Inu's eyes.

"Welcome, my dear Arrancar. As most of you know, our very own Sexta Espada has gone against his orders and has been stripped of his rank. I've been going over the options, and I have heard suggestions, and I think I have two names in mind. One, Luppi Antenor."

The bishounen bowed immediately. "I thank you for this opportunity, Lord Aizen."

"And two, Roder Tyranus."

Roder beat his arm to his chest and bowed his head. "Thank you sir."

"Now, how shall we decide which one of you succeeds the position as my newest Espada?"

Luppi smiled. "My lord, I would wipe the floor with Tyranus-san if we faced each other in combat." He turned towards them. "Of course, I would spare his life for you, since he is your friend, Yggdra-chan."

Yggdra smiled back, but her friends knew she was crying inside. After all, she came from a time when losing your first kiss to a stranger was equal to having a stripper cake on your sixteenth birthday in modern times.

"Well then, shall it be a fight?"

Cheers rose up from the Arrancar crowd.

"Very well then."

Space was cleared to allow to two combatants room for the upcoming battle. Roder took his twin tonfa from his back and took up a fighting stance. Luppi chuckled.

"I know I said I'll spare you, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. Strangle, Trepedora (**Climbing Vine**)." Luppi's Resurreccion appeared and his tentacles all pointed at Roder. "One on eight, not even a- GACK!"

Roder had sonidoed in and brought an uppercut into Luppi's gut. While the boy was still doubled over, Roder brought his other arm down and smashed him into the ground. Luppi was down for the count, with certainty.

"I decided to spare you, since Yggdra seems to want to marry you or something."

Luppi smiled a bit, despite the pain and humiliation. Yggdra's face had gone completely red, like a tomato, and Gulcasa and Inu were literally rolling on the floor laughing. Aizen smirked.

"I believe it is obvious who holds more power. Let it be known then that Roder Tyranus is the new Sexta Espada."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**And so the changes begin. What tasks await our hero in his new position? Well, you probably have a good idea if you've read/watched Bleach.**

**Also, I would like to thank ladymelancholy17 for being the first to review my story. :D**

**I will be waiting a day or two before posting the first 'real' chapter. It's actually going to be kinda short, sorry, but to make that up I'll be putting the second right after it. Let me know if you like or if I messed up somewhere.**


	4. Chapter 1: You Call That a Distraction?

**And we're back. This chapter felt a bit rushed to me, but like I said before, I don't want to be going over details we already know. Also, fist actual chapter, yay.**

**I was gonna do a disclaimer, but then I got high.**

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before Roder received his first mission. After receiving his '6' tattoo, choosing to put it on his palm, he was told to go to the World of the Living with one of the newest Arrancar, Wonderweiss Margela along with the former Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jagerjaquez and the Diez Espada, Yammy Llargo. Roder had also brought his friends, now Fracciones, Inu and Emilia.<p>

"Hey, get back here!" Yammy yelled. Roder looked to see Grimmgow speeding away, saying something about finding someone in particular. "Bastard!"

"Let him go. You can't hope to leash Grimmjow. Inu, follow that idiot and make sure he doesn't kill himself."

"All right." The dog-eared Arrancar sped off after the more feline one.

"Emilia, you keep an eye on Wonderweiss. Yammy and I are going to be too busy in a moment to make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

"Why am I stuck with babysitting? I can fight!"

"I know you can. That's why you're to watch him and teach him how to fight. The poor boy probably doesn't know the difference between a tree branch and a sword."

"Pah, keep your merciful crap to yourself!" Yammy blared.

"Do you really want Aizen on your case if Wonderweiss is permanently damaged? Oh, seems we have company. Get ready, Diez. We're about to have some fun."

Four Shinigami showed up, three males and one female. Wonderweiss looked at them for a second, and then wondered off. Emilia went after him. The Shinigami seemed a little confused about the two child-like Arrancar, but collected themselves quickly. Roder sonidoed a few meters away from the group and observed them. After sensing their power, he concluded that he could take one of them or any combination of two of them. The white haori on one of them caught his eye.

"Say, you, you're a captain aren't you? My, I know a certain someone who would like a look at you."

The young captain kept his face in a scowl. "I am Toshira Hitsuguya, captain of Tenth Division."

Yammy chuckled. "Ten, hey? I'm the Diez Espada, also a number ten. Hey, Roder, I'm fighting this one."

"All right Yammy. Just remember to keep an eye on your back." He cleared his throat. "As for me, I am the new Sexta Espada, Roder Tyranus. Fight well, otherwise you'll lose." He whipped out his tonfa from his back and took his fighting stance. "Now, show me your best!"

He dashed forward and thrust his fist toward the bald one, who managed to block, but was knocked back a few meters.

"Damn! Nice arm, but don't you wanna know our names?"

"Hm? Ah, yes. How rude of me. I'm afraid I just felt so jittery about getting to fight that I forgot myself. Go ahead, warrior."

The bald man smiled. "Ikkaku Madarame, third seat of the Eleventh Division."

The other male Shinigami showed up a few meters left of Ikkaku. "And I am Fourth Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa."

"Ah, I know someone who would also like to meet you. You look like his type."

Yumichika squinted. "'His' type?"

Ikkaku couldn't hold back a short laugh at that. Roder turned his face slightly and looked at the female. "What of you?"

"Rangiku Matsumoto, lieutenant of the Tenth Division."

"So, that would make you the other one's direct subordinate. I hope he doesn't mind you being thrashed about a little. While we're in battle, I won't let myself think of you as a woman. For now, you are all warriors for me to fight."

The woman just pulled out her Zanpakuto and readied herself.

* * *

><p>Inu had been watching the battle between Grimmjow and the Shinigami. Grimmjow had told him not to interfere, to which he replied he wouldn't even help him if he was about to die. Of course, that was a lie. Roder had told him to make sure Grimmjow didn't get himself killed and that's what he was going to do. Of course, he didn't say anything about letting him get pummeled a good bit, which was what it looked like was going on after that Shinigami pulled off something like a Hollow mask. Inu, not being the thinking type didn't think much of it except how it had amplified his power for a moment. Then it broke and Grimmjow started kicking the Shinigami around again. Then he froze, literally.<p>

"What the-"

Inu dashed forward and kicked away the offending, shorter Shinigami. "What's the big idea? Don't go messin' with other people's fights."

Rukia and Ichigo looked at the newcomer. His clothing looked like a color inverted shihakusho, and his mask fragment appeared to be dog-like ears sprouting from his white hair. He put his hand to his Zanpakuto and readied himself.

Grimmjow broke free from the ice and looked at the Shinigami angrily, then turned his attention to the Fracciones.

"I don't need your help, mutt! I can handle this on my own!"

"You don't think I know that, you damn cat?! I'm just getting in on the action now that there're two of them. You keep beating up on your carrot-top, and I'll take the pipsqueak."

"Tch, so noisy." All four looked up to see one Shinji Hirako floating just above them. "I hate getting involved in Shinigami business, but when it's so close to home I just can't ignore it."

"Who's this clown?" Inu said to himself as Shinji sauntered down in front of them.

* * *

><p>Roder was starting to wonder how Grimmjow's Fracciones had died to these beings as he knocked Rangiku to the ground. The woman coughed a bit and looked forward to see the two child-like Arrancars. Apparently, the girl had taken to tying flowers into the boy's hair and around his mask fragment.<p>

"Hey, it's the one with the boobs," the girl Arrancar said. She seemed to be dressed in typical Gothic Lolita fashion with feathers decorating it and in the normal Arrancar colors. Her mask fragment looked to be a circlet with five red teeth hanging downwards at the center.

"The one with the boobs?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. The other girl didn't have any. So I labeled you as 'with' and her as 'without'."

Rangiku snorted a laugh. "First that guy calls him gay, and then you call him a girl. Today's just a great day to pick on Yumichika I guess."

The boy made a curious sound and poked Rangiku while looking at the girl.

"Eh, sure."

He grasped a hold of Rangiku, pinning her arms to her sides and squeezed a little. The woman was finding it a little difficult to breathe like that.

"Just try not to make too much of a-"

Suddenly the Negacion formed around all of Arrancar, plus one Shinigami.

"…mess. Well, looks like we got a souvenir."

* * *

><p>The Arrancar returned. Grimmjow was pissed. Inu was pissed and cold. Yammy was just being Yammy. Emelia walked with Wonderweiss holding on to the rope that was tied around their prisoner. Roder was at the head of the group, not sure how Aizen would take them having captured one of the enemy. It wasn't their objective to capture a Shinigami, but they hadn't been told that they couldn't either.<p>

"Ulquiorra succeeded in his mission," they heard as they entered the main chamber.

"Ah, that means we were successful as well then," Roder stated. "However, we did have an unexpected…event take place, my lord."

Aizen looked towards the bound Rangiku, his expression not changing at all. Gin, however, ceased smiling and looked as serious as Tousen. Emilia pulled the Shinigami forward so that everyone present could get a better look.

"Wonderweiss grabbed her just before we got called back," the young Fraccion explained. "Don't know if was going to hug her or squeeze her to death, but he let her go after we got back. We tied her up and took her sword after that."

"It seems we have our first prisoner of war. Loly, Menoly, show Emilia to a proper holding cell for the Lieutenant."

The two Arrancar girls bowed. "Yes, Lord Aizen." They left with Emilia and her prisoner in tow.

Aizen smiled at Roder. "It seems you did even better than anticipated, Tyranus, taking on multiple Shinigami, even after their limiters were removed."

Roder nodded. "They simply underestimated me. They thought that because there were more of them that they could surround and overwhelm me. I have trained for such scenarios with my Fracciones. It was almost like I was training, to be honest."

"Glad to hear you're so confident. Now, everyone, to show you what your hard work has earned."

A red-haired teenage girl was brought out before them all by Ulquiorra. Many of them were raising questions, but Aizen silenced them.

"Orihime Inoue has a very special ability, which will now be demonstrated. Grimmjow, come forward."

Everyone watched as Orihime's power was used on Grimmjow's severed arm. Many eyes widened as his arm was completely restored.

"Di- Did she just heal him?" Inu asked, surprised.

"No," Kagome said. "It's more like she reversed time on his arm alone, and undid what caused it to be destroyed."

"Orihime's unique ability," Aizen said, "is the power to reject fate. She rejected the fact that Grimmjow's arm was destroyed, so now it is simply not destroyed."

Grimmjow smiled. "Hey, think you can fix this too?" he said pointing to the place where he once had his Espada number tattooed. Orihime agreed and the number '6' was once again on his body.

"He can't do that!" Inu shouted for all to hear. "You lost your place as an Espada! Roder's the number six now!"

"Not for long," Grimmjow said as he reared his fist. He sonidoed and punched but was blocked by a sword nearly as large as his body.

"You will not lay a hand on Roder, you beast," Yggdra said as she held her ground.

"It's fine Yggdra. I can handle him on my own."

The swordswoman reluctantly backed down and sheathed her blade on her back. Grimmjow and Roder stared each other down before Grimmjow made to attack again, now with his sword. Roder caught his hand, flipped him over his body, and slammed him into the ground. As Grimmjow made to get up, he punched down at him, flattening his back to the stone floor. He punched again, making cracks appear on the stone around him. He punched again, and now people were certain that Grimmjow had sunk into the floor. The former Espada coughed up blood and tried to pull himself out of the man-shaped indention.

"You didn't lose your place because of a missing arm and a piece of skin. You lost your place because of your anger-clouded judgment and lack of real fighting power. If you want your place back, then get stronger. Otherwise, I'd suggest you aim lower."

Grimmjow grit his teeth as a few of the Arrancar laughed at his expense. Aizen smiled; glad to have gotten such a strong follower.

* * *

><p><strong>They've captured Rangiku! What does this mean for the Soul Society!?<strong>

**Not much really. She plays a little significance to a certain someone, but it's not the main focus here.**

**And while I realize that Roder just fought three to four Shinigami on his own and did perfectly fine and then went Hulk on Grimmjow, one must remember the power difference some of the Arrancar have. Grimmjow killed Luppi with a single punch and a cero, despite being the same rank. It kinda goes without saying that there are Arrancar who could've done the same to Grimmjow.**


	5. Chapter 2: Collect Yourselves

**As promised, here is another chapter to go with the first. Again, not much is really happening.**

**Disclaimer, if it's vaguely famous, I most likely don't own it.**

* * *

><p>Nessiah and Yggdra were both sent by Roder to assist with taking care of felt like the young girl might be a little overwhelmed by everything, and Nessiah had missed out on Grimmjow's arm being restored and was curious of her power. As they approached the door to her room, Yggdra saw Ulquiorra walking out.<p>

"Ah, greetings, Ulquiorra-sama. How is our charge?"

"She is good enough," Ulquiorra said, never changing his tone or expression.

"Ah, but something is the matter?" Nessiah asked. Yggdra would never understand how he could sense the slightest amount of emotion. He could even tell what Ulquiorra was feeling at times.

"There is one problem," the Cuatro Espada admitted. "Convince her to eat for me. She is human, therefore needs nutrients."

"Of course, milord," Nessiah said with a bow. The Espada left, but Yggdra could see Nnoitra Gilga approaching. She really didn't want to be in the halls with him.

"Let's see to her."

The two walked in and saw the somber-looking human girl. Ygddra remembered when she was that young, sometimes imagining being a glorious Valkyrie, or when she would become queen. But that was four and a half wars and one eon ago. She was no longer 'that' Yggdra Artwaltz.

She walked towards the girl, whose attention turned towards her.

"Greetings, Orihime Inoue. I am Yggdra Artwalz. This is my companion, Nessiah Aries."

Orihime looked at the man standing next to the pretty girl. His attire seemed to be several billowing robes with a single hooded robe above them. His mask fragment completely covered his eyes and reached back behind his ears. Under his left arm was a book thicker than any other she had ever seen before, even on TV.

"Uh, h- hello," Orihime said nervously.

"Well, isn't she just a jabber-mouth," Nessiah said as he made his way over to her. "I'm afraid I wasn't present when you restored Grimmjow's arm. Perhaps you could demonstrate your powers to me. After all, no one appreciates arcanery and magic as much as I do."

Orihime's tension loosened up a little. Yggdra could tell it would be a while before she trusted them, but she would trust them soon enough.

* * *

><p>Roder looked out across the seemingly endless expanse of sand. There would be battle soon. Aizen's plans were starting to unfold just the way he wanted, and now intruders had entered Hueco Mundo. Roder himself was not commanded to come with them to the attack on Karakura Town, but the three Shinigami made it clear that they would not at all mind his help. That was just fine. After all, it would only help Roder's own plan.<p>

He heard footsteps and looked to see the Tercera Espada and her three Fracciones trailing behind. There was no doubt in his mind now. The heterochromatic one all but concluded it for him.

"Greetings, Tia Harribel."

They stopped. For a moment, the Tercera stared directly at him. "Have we met?"

"Once, long ago. I doubt I was worth much remembering when we came across each other. Although," he looked over at the tomboyish girl, "if she's that same Adjuchas from before, then perhaps you remember me a bit?"

Her bi-colored eyes went wide. "You're that dinosaur looking Adjuchas!" she accused. "The one that tripped up and then ate that guy who wanted to eat me."

"Yeah, that was me."

"I knew," Haribel said, actually surprising Roder for a moment. "When Aizen-sama announced your name, it was only obvious. I did not believe you had remembered me though. Tell me, has your voracious appetite gone?"

"It's gone now. Has been for quite a while. Also, I must thank you Harribel."

"Thank me?"

"Before I came across you, I was a being with seemingly no purpose. But when I saw you, heard you speak your name, and felt your power, I knew that there was something more. That's when I decided to no longer call myself what the Shinigami called me, but to have my own name. And I made a goal. I would grow my power until I could reach your level. I had evolved; I knew I would evolve again. It was only a matter of time before I reached that level I felt you on; the level of a Vasto Lorde." Roder turned his entire frame towards them. He was a head taller than Harribel, but the look they gave each other was a look between two that considered themselves equals. "It seems we have both surpassed that level."

They stood there for a while, neither moving nor speaking. Finally, Haribel went around him and continued walking to whatever business she was going to attend. Her Fracciones were frozen in place for a moment, before they too stepped around Roder and followed their mistress. He watched them leave, then turned his attention back out towards the sands. His focus was not on the desert though. Rather, he was focusing on a tiny reiatsu. Another face from before came to mind.

"I wonder how they're doing out there."

Roder rubbed his covered chin in silent contemplation. 'Will anyone notice if I go missing for just a moment?'

* * *

><p>Ichigo and company had been on their way when they saw what looked like a tiny child running from three hollows. They had gone to try and rescue it, when they felt a huge reiatsu coming. A figure suddenly appeared in front of the child, and all four of the running figures stopped. The group also paused, only a couple of meters away from the Hollows and the tiny cloaked child.<p>

"R- Roder-tan?"

"Nel-chan, it has been a while. Last time you saw me I had a lot more armor, right?" He pat the child, a girl going by her voice, on the head, before looking up at the group.

"Humans and a Shinigami? All the way out here? I heard you had broken in, but my, you're far from home. Hoping to somehow free the two young guests we have?"

Ichigo gripped his sword tightly and prepared to fight the Arrancar, but Chad gripped his shoulder.

"Ichigo, that Arrancar fits the description of the one that fought the group of Shinigami single-handedly. We can't fight him head-on without taking serious damage."

"Ah, so my reputation precedes me. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't come out here to fight you, and I've received no orders to do anything about intruders." He scooped the little girl, Nel, into his arms and looked at the three Hollows."

"I'll take her away from here. Can you three manage?"

"Uh," the tiki-faced one went.

"Well, I know you can run." And then he was gone.

The group of rescuers let loose the breath they had been holding, while the Hollows let the panic set in.

"Ah! Roder has taken Nel-chan!" the big one screamed.

"He's taken her to Los Noches! It far too dangerous there!" the thin one yelled.

"UWAH!" the wormy one bellowed in despair.

"Wait, weren't you guys just chasing her?!" Ichigo yelled at them over their cries.

"Of course," the thin one remarked, suddenly no longer worried sick. "Chasing is an integral part of Eternal Tag," he said, putting a fist his palm.

"Eternal Tag?"

* * *

><p>Roder walked slowly with Nel in his arms. She had fallen asleep not long after he promised to take her back to Pesche and Dondachaka once everything was safe. He didn't trust her well-being to those goofballs with her safety while there were Shinigami and Hollow-hunting humans about. Sure, they were safe most of the time, but that had more to do with the oppressive feeling of the Arrancar's power keeping most Adjuchas away.<p>

"Ah, Tyranus-sama," Kagome said as she saw him enter the main chamber of their new palace. He eyes refocused on the green-gray bundle in his arms. "Is that…?"

"Have Inu report that the intruders are approaching and are almost upon us. Also, take Nel and find her someplace comfortable. Get her some new clothes while you're at it."

Kagome took the little one and bowed her head. "Of course. I'll only be a moment."

She took off and skit by Gulcasa, who was walking in.

"Finish your goal?" Roder asked.

"Yes sir," Gulcasa said smugly. "What was with the child there? You aren't planning to make her a Fraccion I hope."

"If I do, it will only be as a formality. I simply pulled her out of harm's way. Inu is already getting the message to Aizen that we'll be under attack by some low-leveled Shingami and humans soon."

"Think they came for the Princesses in the tower?"

"Yes. The humans with him I assume are Miss Orihime's friends."

"Should we do anything about them?"

"No. I think Aizen has already planned ahead for them. If anything, there presence will garner all attention and everyone won't be so focused on each other."

"Meaning no one will bother looking at us."

"Yes, precisely. Has Nessiah visited our little guest?"

"Yeah, he and Yggdra went and befriended her as well. If there is any one person who can gain her trust, it'll be Yggdra."

"Good. And how are the masses?"

"Flocking."

"Wonderful. Everything is proceeding rather well. Better than expected, in fact."

"You think it has to do with the extra kidnapping?"

"Perhaps, but I have a feeling those humans would've charged in with or without the Shinigami. They have just enough power to challenge a few of the Numeros, maybe even a Priveron Espada or two, but even Aaroniero could easily defeat them. The Shingami may find a way to defeat one or two Espada, but they have neither the power nor the numbers to fight us all. I have a feeling they might just go straight for Miss Orihime rather than take everyone they come across down."

"So, what should we do?"

"Nothing. Only fight to defend yourselves unless ordered otherwise. We'll just be watching them and taking up the injured. I'd rather not lose too many Arrancar to them."

"Sure thing, boss." He had said 'boss' almost sarcastically. Officially, he was Gulcasa's leader, but he and Yggdra always saw him as more or less an equal who simple served as the focal point for their own leaderships. Gulcasa easily held all sway with his sister and former subordinate, while Yggdra had no doubt gained Kagome's trust over the years and, in turn, Inu's as well. In the end though, they all readily answered Roder's call. They saw within him power, and that power could easily hold sway over how the world would be shaped. Better yet, Roder had ambitions. Once their plans came to fruition, everything would be much better for everyone.

"I'll go check on Nel and Kagome. Ask Nessiah to begin the next step. I need to go check with my fellow Espada soon."

"Later then."

* * *

><p>Nel woke up and yawned. It took her a minute to remember everything that had transpired. She was a little downcast, but didn't feel too bad. Then another familiar face came into view.<p>

"Hello, Nel-chan. You're just as cute and adorable as I remember."

"Eh, you're one of Roder-tan's fwiends. Um, Kagimi?"

"It's Kagome." She looked over to see the dogish Inu. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and eyes closed. "Why are we even watching over this runt? She can take care of herself, can't she?"

"Because Tyranus-sama asked me to watch over her."

"Since when have you called him 'Tyranus-sama'?"

"Well," she frowned a bit. "We're his subordinates now. Others might get angry at us if they hear us refer to him by his given name."

"There are no rules or stipulation concerning whatever name you use." Now Roder had entered their room. "Call me whatever you wish. Especially in these walls. The other Espada cannot enter without my knowing, and Aizen would not bother with something so trivial. Not even Szayel can spy on us with the wards Nessiah placed."

"See? Even he drops the 'sama' here. And Aizen's the big boss."

"By the way, aren't you supposed to be giving Aizen the message?"

"I passed it on through that cat Priveron Espada 106. What's his name? Grimmjow, yeah. Told him and some other Priveron chick. The one that dresses kinda like Emelia."

"That would be Cirucci Sanderwicci, Priveron 105. I guess they'll get the message to him. Also, the style is known as 'Gothic Lolita'. Though I will admit, Emelia pulls it off far better. Cirucci's is far too minimalistic."

Inu raised an eyebrow. "What, I can't have an eye for aesthetics?"

"No, but I don't think Gulcasa would like you finding his sister attractive."

"I never said that. I simply said her outfit is done much better."

"I disagree with you there, Inu Yasha. If there's anyone Gulcasa doesn't mind going after his sister, it'll be Nessiah and to a lesser degree, Roder."

Nel didn't understand what they meant by all that, but it was comforting to be around such a friendly atmosphere. Pesche and Dondachaka always warned her that Los Noches was full of powerful, greedy people who were ready and willing to kill just to get a bit further, but she didn't see that here. These guys were powerful, but they were kind, even if Inu was trying to seem cold and indifferent.

**"All Espada, there will be a meeting held within the hour. Attendance is required."**

"Well, seems like Aizen got wind of the situation. You kids behave while daddy goes to attend some business."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, I took Nel out of the Ichigo equation. For what purpose, because it's what Roder would do. In his mind Shinigami = Hollow killer, Nel = Hollow, Shinigami near Nel = Dead Nel. You can't blame him though. He's never met any of these living people.<strong>


	6. Chapter 3: The Battles Begin

**Stuff is finally starting to happen, and the universe is starting to alternate...or something like that.**

**Anyways, we all know how the fights went down between certain folks. And I'm sure no one liked the Exequias killing off survivors just to put them in Szayel's freezer. Why else would Kubo have made the zombie chapters? Don't worry, I fixed that up.**

**As for pairings (in case anyone was wondering), Roder won't be 'paired' per say with anyone really. He'll have some relationships, just not those kind of loving relationships. As for the non-oc's, I'm going to just forego the issue entirely and not bother with any full-blown pairings. Sorry folks. They may be crushes here and there and one or two humorous scenes dealing with it, but I don't trust myself to write a loving relationship type of thing.**

* * *

><p>The briefing had been rather…brief. Not much information had been shared that Roder didn't already know, except that they had apparently run into two more Shinigami and taken down Runuganga and were close to breaking into Los Noches. Aizen told them not to worry but also not to underestimate them, but it seemed like several already were doing so. The first four Espada he could understand. They could probably smash them like bugs if they wanted. The ones that were actually displaying it though were most of them beneath him. Nnoitra he could understand, but even Zommari acted as though they would fall before them like rotted trees in a hurricane. Roder knew to keep his eyes open and on his fellows.<p>

After they had ended the meeting, Ulquiorra approached him from the side. "I must ask you about the coming and goings of your Fracciones."

"Certainly. Let us walk then." The two walked away from the meeting room. Roder waited until he could feel for certain that the others were nowhere close enough to hear even a little bit of what they would say. "What's this about then?"

"Not only has your Fraccion, Yggdra, been visiting the human woman very often, but the others have gone on excursions throughout Hueco Mundo for unknown reasons. I would have those reasons known."

"Is that all?" Roder just nodded. "Guess I can't keep it secret from you then. See, I've been having them going out and searching for Vasto Lorde."

"To make into Arrancar?"

"Precisely. While most Espada here either clutch to their positions or scurry for power to try and rise above, I prefer to curry favor with our Lord Aizen by bringing in new allies."

"Is that why you've sent a blind Arrancar to search?"

"Nessiah cannot see, but his Pesquisa is one of the strongest there is. He is more useful when it comes to locating reiatsu than anything Szayel can create."

"Why is it I feel like you are hiding something?"

"Because I am. I won't tell you what I've found, only Aizen. And I'm going to wait until after this debacle with the trespassers is over. I want his full attention when I present him with my findings."

"Very well. However, if I suspect you of treachery, you will not live long enough to present anything."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, my friend. Good luck in your endeavors."

Ulquiorra watched him walk away, towards his lodgings. He was still suspicious, but there was nothing concrete to prove that the other Arrancar was a traitor. In fact, he wasn't so sure Roder was being a traitor. He never tried to cover them or deny the accusations. There was still one thing however.

"What of Yggdra and the human woman?"

"Ah, that." He scratched his head. "Don't frankly know. Yggdra's always been the one to extend a hand. Sometimes, I wonder if that girl is even a Hollow. Don't worry about her too much. Just let me know if she does something you feel is out of line."

Perhaps Ulquiorra had just mistaken his incompetence with treachery. He wouldn't be the first Espada unworthy of his position. He nodded and Roder went along his way. He would still keep his eye on him.

* * *

><p>It hadn't been long before casualties started. The Exequias were quick, but Emelia was quicker. Roder now had the beaten down form of one Cirucci Sanderwicci and the heavily injured Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio. Rudbornn would not be pleased, but Roder had made it clear that had would bash in Rudbornn's face if he even tried to take them out of his home. Nessiah had applied healing magic to them, but it would take a while before they fully recovered.<p>

"Hey Roder," Emelia called out. "Gantenbainne just fell, and then Nnoitra beat the human that beat him. Both are down but alive, should I get them?"

"Yes. We'll have to restrain the human, in case. Get them both, before the Exequias do."

"Ha, they won't even be halfway there by the time I lug those two back." With that, she was gone.

"People will wonder, yaknow," Inu said.

"I am simply rescuing our allies and capturing our enemies in the human's case. If anything, the rest should be ashamed that they aren't the ones to do this."

"You know why they aren't."

"And it's a very faulty reason. The Priveron may be considered bottom ring trash because they fell from being Espada, but to me, that doesn't matter. The point is that they once were Espada. Others simply grew more powerful than them and pushed them down. They're still more powerful than most Numeros, so to me, they are worth more."

"All right, whatever. Still, the chick got her powers sealed away. She can't be useful now, even if she once was like you said."

"I'm looking into repairing that, don't you worry."

"Why capture the human though? He'll bleed out eventually, right?"

"Yes, but he is a possible friend of Orihime's. Now, how thankful do you think she'll be when I present her friends, injured but alive, to her?"

Inu smiled. "You sneaky bastard."

"I try."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Orihime had felt Sado's reiatsu seemingly disappear. Ulquiorra was leaving her room as Yggdra came in. She bowed respectfully and went on past him, being watched for a moment before the Cuatro went on.<p>

"Orihime-san, don't cry," the woman tried to comfort her. "It'll be fine."

"It won't. My friends are all going to die, and it's all my fault. Sado-kun's already dead."

Yggdra thought back. "Would he be a tall, muscular, brown-skinned man?"

Orihime looked at Yggdra with wide eyes. Had she-

"He's down, but not dead. Tyranus-sama is overseeing the capture and reclamation of everyone being caught in the battles. Rudbornn-sama isn't happy with him seemingly taking over his job, but Roder has made clear he doesn't trust the lives of fellow Arrancar in anyone else's hands. Your friend was just picked up by Emelia-chan. They'll have him safely locked away, but healing."

It felt as though a great weight had been lifted off of her. Orihime sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "I can't believe it. I almost collapsed when I thought they would die."

"I won't lie to you; one or two still might. Just pray that they are beaten down by one of the Arrancar who won't bother to finish them off."

"Still…I hope they do rescue me."

Yggdra shook her head. "It doesn't hurt to hope, but I can already tell you how this will go down. All but their strongest I could defeat on my own. And even that one will be unable to do anything against the likes of Ulquiorra-sama, much less the top Espada. If you need to hope, hope that they survive. Asking for more than that will just be too much."

Orihime looked a little downcast, but smiled just a bit. "Then I hope, with all my heart, that they survive, and we all meet again."

Yggdra smiled. It felt good, helping someone get over their feelings of despair.

* * *

><p>Roder, stopped mid-step. He felt it, just like all the others. "Damn," he muttered. "Aaroniero, you weren't supposed to die. Not yet."<p>

He walked out of his palace and looked to where he last felt Aaroniero Arruruerie's presence. He began to sonido his way there, trying hard not to break into a speed that would rupture Los Noches. When he arrived, he was greeted by a scene of two bodies and two tiny ball-like heads, one of which was split in half. He picked them both up and looked at them.

"Waste not." He struggled for a moment, and then his mask opened, revealing his open mouth just behind it. He put both the head/balls in and swallowed them whole. He sighed, his mask back in its shut position. "It's been a while since I've eaten another Hollow." He looked to the messy body that seemed to be decaying. "Forgot how good we taste." His mask/mouth opened again, this time noticeably easier and the things that were once Aaroniero Arruruerie's body began flying towards him, shrinking, and going into his mouth. When all was consumed, he shut his mouth again, and looked to his side. A Shinigami woman was there. One he recognized from his base Hollow days.

"Full circle," he muttered, just before flicking the ice around her with two fingers, causing it to shatter. He lifted her up and began to walk away when someone appeared. He stopped and looked, seeing Zommari Rureaux.

* * *

><p>Orihime and Yggdra were talking like girls do, when the door was blasted down, revealing Loly and Menoly.<p>

"What is the meaning of this?" Yggdra yelled while pulling out her massive sword. Orihime randomly pictured a female Ichigo in medieval Europe.

"We're just here to teach a certain bitch a few lessons while Ulquiorra's out," Loly stated as though it was the most obvious thing.

"Foolishness. I will not stand for such."

Menoly sonidoed around her, but she easily blocked. Pain shot up her back as she realized she had left herself exposed.

"We're not talking about you, by the way. Enjoy bleeding out."

Yggdra dropped to one knee. Loly began taunting and beating on Orihime as Menoly held her knife at Yggdra's throat to keep her from interfering. She was trying to come up with a plan, but the only thing that seemed feasible was cutting down Menoly and then taking out the other while they were disarmed. It wasn't likely that they'd survive, but that was a sacrifice she'd have to make in order to save Orihime. Menoly looked over and tried to tell Loly not to go too hard on her or she might die. Yggdra almost took that into consideration as her sword spun and cleaved through the woman's midsection, cutting her in half. She collapsed in two, and Loly's face turned into one of pure horror.

"Menoly!"

Yggdra stood up and held her sword at the ready. The dagger was still in her back, but that also meant Loly was without a weapon. She couldn't even hope to grab Menoly's with Yggdra prepared to strike.

"You made…a very big mistake. Join the-"

Before she could call on her Resurreccion, another wall was burst in and in walked a man with blue, spiky hair.

"Grimmjow!" both Arrancar women exclaimed.

He looked over the situation for a moment. Yggdra weakened and bleeding, Orihime battered, Menoly lying in half, and Loly standing unharmed but with her weapon lodged in Yggdra's back. He snarled and grabbed the unarmed woman before throwing her into a wall, cracking it all along her body. She fell down and was immediately kicked in the gut by the Priveron Espada. Another kick hit her face and she was on her side in a corner. The Priveron Espada looked over at Orihime.

"There, I repaid my debt to you. Now, I gotta ask you for another favor." He yanked the dagger out of Yggdra's back and tossed it aside. "Go ahead and heal your friend and yourself."

Yggdra felt Orihime's powers go over her and fix the stab wound. It happened rather quickly. When it was done, Yggdra felt as though she had never been stabbed at all, memory aside. The younger girl looked at the two halves of Menoly.

"Hurry up and heal yourself."

"Wait, just for a moment." Suddenly Yggdra saw an orange glow around Menoly's corpse.

'No way. She couldn't be.'

Menoly's body was put back together, the blood that pooled now gone. Loly looked even more surprised than Yggdra.

"Why?" she muttered. "Why?"

Then the orange glow surrounded her. This was a level of forgiveness Yggdra could've never imagined. Even alive and at her purest, Yggdra didn't think she could have forgiven anyone the way Orihime was doing right now, not after what they had done and tried to do. Loly seemed even more confused, unable to speak or move, even after being fully restored.

"You done yet?" Grimmjow growled. "Fix yourself up or I'll drag you out there by your hair."

Yggdra sighed. She didn't know what Grimmjow was planning, but she needed to put up with it. He was powerful, and she had to keep an eye on Orihime.

* * *

><p><strong>So, will the Exequias have a point? Will the captain's show up?<strong>

**Yes and barely. The captains showing up were a complete Deus ex Machina to me. I would've preferred Ichigo's Hollow doing another hostile takeover and Uryuu pulling off some reiatsu self-destructing arrow thing rather than having people THEY DEFEATED BEFORE come up and defeat the ones who DEFEATED THEM. Mayuri saving Uryuu from the flamboyant scientist wasn't irony, it was dumb.**


	7. Chapter 4: You Don't Mess With Roder

**Not sure what to say about this chapter, other than there will actually be a captain in this one towards the end. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>It all happened so fast. Orihime was healing the Shinigami (Yggdra had no idea at the time why Grimmjow wanted him healed, but Orihime seemed to know him) then Ulquiorra had appeared. He and Grimmjow fought briefly before Grimmjow pulled out a caja negacion and trapped Ulquiorra with it. Apparently nobody had bothered to confiscate that from him and now Yggdra felt like she would be indicted for treason for not doing anything to stop it. Orihime argued against healing the Shinigami just for Grimmjow to beat him up again (the apparent reason for the healing) when the Shinigami got up and told her to heal him and Grimmjow's injuries from the short fight with Ulquiorra.<p>

Yggdra admired the Shinigami's honor, but figured that it was all for naught. The Shinigami might've been able to defeat her and some of the lower ranked Espada, but with Grimmjow out of his Resurreccion he was barely a match. Once it came to that point, he would be finished. Needless to say, it wound up being one of the most interesting one-on-one fights she ever bore witness to.

* * *

><p>Roder sensed Grimmjow's reiatsu and the Shinigami's throughout the fight. Impressive as it was, he had half a mind to break it up and put Orihime back in her room, but knew that that would just enrage Grimmjow further. He'd let him vent out his steam, then go and pick them up. It would be too dangerous to let Emelia go out and retrieve those two, and he needed Yggdra to keep an eye on the poor human girl less she get herself hurt.<p>

Then their reiatsu's dropped. He sonidoed his way to them. Nnoitra was close. He didn't know what the Quinta Espada was planning but it was best to beat him to the punch before he pissed in it, because piss he would.

He saw Grimmjow getting up when he arrived. Yggdra looked ready to charge over and start formalities, but Roder waved her back, indicating that she should stay with Orihime.

"Whoa-oa! You're fast!" a tiny voice said. Roder's head perked up and he looked behind himself to see that he had a hanger-on.

"Nel?!" The tiny Arrancar in question was clinging to the back of his jacket. She was wearing her new clothes, a one piece dress with the normal white and black outline and a black stripe around her waist. On her feet were tiny shoes and Roder still had no idea where those had come from. "Nel, what in the world?"

"I was tryin' ta get your atenshen and you super-speeded out here."

"Damn. Sorry Nel." Grimmjow apparently took a slash at the Shinigami, who grabbed his blade, apparently trying to talk him down. If this Shinigami really was against killing him while he was this weak, then Roder could definitely work with that. "Well, I'll take you back once those two-" A large blade on a chain crashed into the side of Grimmjow's neck and retracted back. Oh yeah, Nnoitra. Well, time to step in.

Before the Shinigami could basically commit assisted suicide, Roder dashed in.

"Really, Nnoitra, can't you let two rivals settle their dispute before trying to chop everyone up?"

"Eh, Roder? The fuck are you doing out here?"

"Just picking up the pieces as they fall. Really though, what was the point of that?"

"Who cares? He was weak."

"We were all weak once. You just got stronger first."

Nnoitra grimaced. "Whatever. I came here to fight the Shinigami."

Roder looked back where Orihime was healing the Shinigami and Yggdra had dragged up Grimmjow. Nnoitra's one Fraccion was nearby, seemingly studying Nel, who was now hiding on the other side of Yggdra's dress.

"Yggdra." Roder indicated the healing sphere. She nodded and shattered it like glass with her sword. Orihime shouted and landed on her rump.

"Yggdra-san?" the girl cried, sounding betrayed.

"I'm sorry Orihime-chan. Don't worry, he's in stable condition, but I can't let you bring him back up to fighting strength. For now focus on bringing Grimmjow back to stability enough to walk."

Orihime nodded in understanding and started to do so. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun."

"There, as you can see, the matter is already-"

"Roder! Look out!"

Roder turned about face and punched downwards, intercepting Nnoitra's attack.

"Huh. Should've known that was a one-hit wonder."

"What the hell, Gilga!?"

"Well, since you're out here playing the part of the traitor, I'd thought I'd be the one to put you down."

"I'm here apprehending the Shinigami and taking Orihime back. How is that being a traitor?"

"It will be once I kill you and your Fraccion and those two half-dead dunces. Then I can tell Aizen whatever I want."

Roder's eyebrows furrowed. He figured Nnoitra would be difficult to work with, but now it was obvious that he'd just have to do away with him. There was no room for such a rogue element like him.

"Assuming you can even kill me, and that's a BIG assumption."

"You're only the Sexta. In case you forgot, I'm a whole number above you."

"So you can count? Very well then." He pulled out his tonfa and dropped down into his fighting stance; feet apart, left forward, right back; left arm up, tonfa held like a shield; right arm low, ready to strike. He could easily reverse the whole stance, but this way was the default.

Nnoitra smiled that big, creepy smile of his and charged forward. Roder met him head on.

* * *

><p>Tesla, while not receiving any orders to, figured that Nnoitra wanted him to engage with Roder's Fraccion. He wasn't too eager to do so, but he had to. Yggdra had already drawn her sword and he held his at the ready.<p>

"This battle is pointless," she said. "No matter which of us wins, if the other's Espada wins, they'll finish off whichever one of us is left standing."

"That may be, but Nnoitra-sama will not be lenient with me if I just stood by casually with an enemy near."

"Has it come to your mind that he has crossed the line here?"

"It doesn't matter. Crush, Verruga!" Tesla yelled as he changed into his released form, a large, warthog-man creature.

He punched towards Yggdra, who blocked his fist with the broad side of her blade and shoved back. She jumped and swung upwards, causing Tesla to leap out of the way. There was a small scratch, but it would be considered inconsequential even on a child. He swung his left fist at her, which collided and sent her tumbling to the side. She rolled back to her feet as soon as she hit the ground and righted herself. Tesla came in with another punch, which was blocked by Yggdra, but this time with no parry. He wondered if she was weakening when he felt her blade go across his chest. Now he had a wound that would've killed a child. Tesla, however, was no child and even less so when in his Resurreccion. He shrugged off the pain and continued his assault.

Yggdra leapt sideways and parried Tesla's fist. He didn't notice it yet, but she had been leading him away from the injured and the child. She batted away his left fist and swung down, cutting through much of his arm. He grunted in pain and backhanded her. She flipped in the air, righting herself before landing on her feet. His hits hurt, but she was putting on some serious damage herself. Tesla's Hierro was strong, keeping her from landing an immediate finishing blow, but it wasn't enough to defend him against her attacks entirely.

She jumped over his fist, but then his other met her mid-air.

* * *

><p>Roder parried another one of Nnoitra's strikes and noticed the commotion in the corner of his eyes. "Seems like our Fracciones have started to fight as well."<p>

Nnoitra looked for a half a second. "Pfft, who cares? I'll chop you up into pieces and Tesla will beat your little bitch into paste. Who knows, maybe she'll still be alive after I'm done with you, then I'll be able to have little fun with her."

Roder's eyes opened wide in rage, but then went back to normal. He had almost lost control there. Sure such a comment should anger him, but he should be able to shrug things like that off instantly. It seemed fighting broke his façade just a little.

Nnoitra took another swing, which Roder ducked under, before leaping forward to try and strike at Nnoitra's stomach. Nnoitra side-stepped.

"Gotta ask before I kill ya; what the hell's with the sticks? Can't cut nothing with a couple of sticks."

Roder paused a moment. "What do you know about the Tyrannosaurus Rex?"

"Big-ass meat-eating dinosaur. What of it?"

"See, the T-rex's teeth were not designed like most other predators. They were rounded, tapering off to sharp points rather than shaping like knives. T-rexes didn't kill their prey by biting jugulars or cutting open their bellies. They would snap down on their prey and crush their bones with enough force to bend steel, then rip out chunks of them to swallow. My tonfa aren't supposed to cut. They crush and rip my enemies apart."

Nnoitra chuckled. "Too bad for you. You can't even hope to seriously hit me."

"Really?" Roder decided to let himself have one second of gratification. He dashed forward. Nnoitra made to block, but then Roder seemingly vanished. Nnoitra looked around for a moment before feeling pain shoot up his left arm. He looked down and saw that most of his arm was missing, leaving a bloodied half of an arm left.

"Looking for something." He turned and saw Roder holding up his left tonfa with Nnoitra's severed arm impaled on it. About three inches of white bone stuck out of the end of it, surrounded by red flesh before going to the almost perfectly good arm, the gaping hole being the only thing to break it.

Nnoitra gripped his stump, the shock finally leaving his system. "Damn you! Fuck!"

"Don't worry. It won't go to waste." Roder bit down on the elbow with his mask's teeth and pulled it off the blunt weapon. He started to lurch his head back and swallowed the arm bit by bit. His bloodied maw opened once more as he sighed in satisfaction. "Thanks for the meal!" he called out mockingly.

"Bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Yes, as you have stated before. I'll do you one better." His maw opened again. "I'll eat you. Cero!"

A dark orange cero fired from the tips of his teeth right at Nnoitra. The Quinta tried to block, but he was hit head-on. When the smoke cleared, everyone could see Nnoitra, still standing, but bleeding profusely from his arm-stump and on his right leg.

"Eat me, huh? Well eat this! Cero!" He stuck his tongue out and a yellow cero began forming. Roder prepared to dodge the attack.

"Roder-tan!"

Roder looked to see Nel running towards him.

"Nel, stop! It's not safe!"

The cero was fired, Nel right in its path. Roder tried to reach her in time to block it or move her or anything, but it had already reached her…and stopped. The cero had stopped and was seemingly being sucked in by Nel's mouth. Everyone was frozen in place, even Yggdra and Tesla had stopped their fight to look. Soon, the whole thing seemed to have been swallowed by the little girl, and the eyes of her mask fragment glowed.

'Don't explode! Don't explode! Don't explode!'

Nel suddenly spat the cero out, right back at Nnoitra. Once the second explosion cleared, Nnoitra audibly collapsed. Tesla, now no longer caring about his own battle ran forward. Roder looked down amazed at Nel, who was lying down exhausted.

"You…aren't going to really eat him, are ya?"

Roder smiled. "Nah, just tried scaring him. Orihime-chan can always fix his arm later."

"That's good. Hehe, Nel saved the day." Then she was snoring.

Roder scooped her up and walked to where the others were. Grimmjow was out cold, the Shinigami could barely stand, Orihime looked frightened and Yggdra was being healed by Orihime.

"Yggdra, I'll take Nel and those two to the palace. You take Orihime back to her room before Aizen gets antsy or Ulquiorra decides to bust our chops over it."

"Like hell you're taking her back," the Shinigami hissed. They ignored him

Before she could answer though, a figure appeared.

"Ah, Stark!" Roder said. "Nnoitra and I had a scuffle. I'm going to lock up the intruder and-"

"Can't chat. Sorry, gotta go." And with that, he grabbed Orihime and took off. Roder blinked.

"Nevermind then. I'll grab Grimmjow since he's wiggling less. Bring the Shinigami along."

"Don't touch me," he threatened, but Yggdra simply knocked him on the head, causing him to collapse.

"Honestly, you're so stubborn." She threw him over her shoulder and took off, stopping at the door to their home. Roder was already carrying Nel and Grimmjow in. Yggdra followed, even as the Shinigami tried to struggle free.

Yggdra unceremoniously dumped Ichigo onto the floor, where he writhed in pain for a moment before being bathed in an orange light.

"Orihime?" Ichigo looked up expectedly, but instead of his redheaded friend, an Arrancar wearing several billowing robes and a mask fragment covering his eyes was there to greet him.

"Ah, so this is the infamous Kurosaki Ichigo? Pleasure to meet you. I am Nessiah Aries."

"Ichigo!" The substitute looked over to see two friendly faces he hadn't seen in a while.

"Rukia! Chad!"

They both stopped right next to him and kneeled down. "What're you guys doing here?"

"Roder-san had us picked up," Sado said.

Rukia nodded. "He and his Fraccion have been going around picking up whoever had been beaten in all of our battles. He's done so saying that he's imprisoning us and saving his allies."

Ichigo thought back. Had that been why he insisted on taking them even when a higher ranked Espada fought him over it?

"You're probably wondering about why, aren't you," the Arrancar with a mask that covered his face said. Ichigo looked up at him and was reminded by the blood on his sharp teeth about how functional they really were.

"Yeah."

"Well, to put it shortly, I want to overthrow Aizen."

"Overthrow him? But most Arrancars praise him like a god."

"Then call me a heretic. Zommari did. Now he's dead."

"Zommari?"

"Ask your lady friend. She was just awake enough to see."

* * *

><p><em>Rukia could barely hear what was going on, but it was had been picked up and was being placed down again.<em>

_"You ate him."_

_"I did. He was already dead when I got here. Probably underestimated her, like Aizen told us not to do."_

_"I see. Then I'll finish it."_

_"Finish what?"_

_"Her."_

_"Don't worry about her. I have a nice, damp cell for her to spend to night in."_

_"It is not enough. I will kill her."_

_There was sound like a blade sliding from its scabbard, but it was stopped short by a hard pat._

_"She is already down. There is no point in killing her when she can become our prisoner."_

_"She killed an Espada. For that, she must die."_

_"You aren't the one that decides these things."_

_"It is Aizen-sama's will."_

_"Forget about Aizen's will for one second."_

_There was a pregnant pause._

_"You dare!"_

_"Damn. Forgot about how fanatical you are when it comes to Aizen."_

_"You damn heretic."_

_"Hm, no choice then."_

_For a while, the sounds of battle could be heard as blade met bat. Then there was a pause._

_"You still hold that clone in your jaws. In case you think your eyes deceive you, I am indeed over here."_

_"I figured so" the voice was a little muffled, "but this clone…made by your Gamelos Sonido…it has your reiatsu and reiryoku."_

_"Yes."_

_"Therefore, one can assume that these are like an extension of your body. Much like an arm or leg."_

_"In a manner of speaking."_

_"Ah, I see. Perhaps you'd like to see a unique power of my own?"_

_"What is it then?"_

_"_Trague Mantenido_. I can swallow the entire reiryoku and body and soul of anything I keep clenched in my jaws for eleven seconds. By now, I've had this clone's neck in for almost twenty."_

_She could almost feel the Arrancar's eyes widening._

_"Let's see just how close to a part of your body this clone is."_

_There was a sound like wind starting up that grew louder and louder until it seemed like a hurricane. The other one was shouting, sometimes several times at once. He shouted and cursed and called out to Aizen, and then in his last words, he praised Aizen like he was a god that would cradle his soul after death. Then there was silence._

* * *

><p>"After that he brought me here, and Nessiah-san healed me and repaired my Zanpakuto."<p>

"You…killed another Espada for her?" To say Ichigo was stunned was like saying Hueco Mundo was a bit sandy.

"I would've had to anyway. I doubt he'd take kindly to me overthrowing his oh-so-precious Aizen."

"Why do you even want to overthrow him so bad?"

"Should it really matter? No, I guess it should matter to you. Let me put it this way; Aizen did, in fact, come along, take down an 'evil' dictator, make us into Arrancar and set up this structure of a sort of government. He did not, however, do this for the sake of the Hollows he changed or out of the kindness of his heart. He made us into tools to use for his own end. I want to overthrow him, take the reins, and turn Los Noches into a veritable Arrancar city complete with a full government system and citizens. All for the sake of the Arrancar, not a Shinigami who would just as soon throw us at the Soul Society hoping to knock down a few buildings."

"So, you're in rebellion."

"Yes, it's just not an open rebellion. I've had to prepare for this for a long time. Almost as soon as my friends and I became Arrancar, in fact. Soon though, while Aizen is fighting your fellow Shinigami, and his defense is at the minimum, I will strike."

The orange cleared away.

"All done," Nessiah announced.

Ichigo and his friends stood up. "And you want our help?"

"It would be appreciated. Your friends here said they were willing if you were."

"If we do this, you'll give us Orihime back?"

"Nessiah has learned how to replicate her powers. You can take her if you wish. Though, I leave prying her away from Ulquiorra up to you."

"About that. Grimmjow stuck Ulquiorra into a caja negacion," Yggdra filled in.

"That won't hold for too much longer. I give it an hour, tops. Also, Aizen won't leave until he at least feels him breaking out."

"I'd also rather have Renji and Uryuu with use," Ichigo stated.

"No worries. Last I checked they were fighting Szayel Aporro Granz. He's a bit of a mad scientist, but relatively weak. In fact, I can feel his reiatsu going down now." He started towards the door. "Get him acquainted with everyone while I'm away." He checked his back for some reason, then sonidoed away.

* * *

><p>Roder stopped a little away from Szayel's battle then saw a weird looking Shinigami standing way too close to Szayel. He sonidoed down next to them and the Shinigami jumped back in surprise.<p>

"Hey, how's it going, Szayel?"

There was no answer. "Szayel?" He looked at the Octava Espada, whose eyes were slowly moving to look at him. "The hell Szayel, what's the matter?"

He heard a laugh and looked over to see it was coming from the weird Shinigami. His face was painted black and white and he seemed to be wearing a mockery of an Egyptian headdress.

"So, are you wondering what has happened to your fellow Arrancar? Eh, Espada?"

Roder raised an eyebrow. "So, you know about me? I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage there."

He laughed again. "I'm afraid I have you at every disadvantage, Roder Tyranus, Sexta Espada. You fit the description perfectly."

"Ah, of course. My debut in the world of the living. You should know then that I am far more powerful than my compatriot here."

"Yes, and I can't wait to take back your corpse and dissect it and find out all about what makes you tick."

Roder felt his skin tingle in warning. He really, really did not like him. Everything in him was telling him to run as fast as he could or completely destroy him.

"Since I already know of you, I'll be gracious enough to lend you my name. It'll be the last you learn. I am Captain of the Twelfth Division and head of Research and Development, Mayuri Kurotsuchi."

"A captain? Well, you're definitely not one of the two I was looking for."

"Hm. Were you perhaps looking for a Quincy and a Lieutenant? Well, I'm afraid you'll be dead or paralyzed before you can find them amongst this rubble."

His instincts went from just telling him to screaming directly into his ear and throwing things at his face.

"Just so you know, your comrade has been experiencing everything extremely slowly. A minute seems like a hundred years to him right now. I won't do the same to you. I'd rather try something…different."

Now the instincts were punching him. This guy had to go, yesterday.

Roder dashed forward, grapping the captain by his arm. The captain's face looked surprised, and then went to anger. He pulled out his sword with his other arm and sliced down.

"Unhand me you barbarian!"

The blade was stopped, however, by Roder's Hierro. Caution and holding back be damned, this…thing had to be gotten rid of. He punched the captain in the face, making a loud cracking noise, then threw his body forward, smashing his front into the dirt. He grabbed his back and spun around with him several times before throwing him almost straight up.

"You damn beeeeeast!" he yelled as he gained altitude.

Roder opened and closed his mask's mouth faster than he ever had before, biting the tip of his tongue. He looked back up at the captain with fresh blood on his teeth.

"Gran rey cero!" The lime green cero leapt from his teeth at the captain. As it collided with him, a scream could almost be heard.

Roder huffed and huffed, glad to have rid himself of that…thing. He dared not give whatever it was any humanizing thought. As he gained control of himself, he looked to see two heads staring at him from over some rubble.

"You…" the red-haired Shinigami started in pain, "you completely vaporized him. He didn't even have a chance to use his nikushibuki."

"I don't know what that is, but I'm glad he didn't." Roder shivered. Damn creepy, clown-faced Shinigami captain.

"I for one am actually glad he's gone," the glasses wearing human stated.

"Wh- what? You realize he was our last hope, right?"

"I'd sooner be saved by an Arrancar than let myself be indebted to that monster."

"Ah, that's good. I actually came here to take you to your friends."

The two seemed to perk up at that.

"You're not lying, are you?"

Figuring with Szayel all but frozen, he could risk speaking a little more freely.

"Yes, Ichigo, Rukia, and- Do you call him Sado or Chad? Either way, they're waiting for you at my palace."

He lifted Renji and put him over his shoulders and then put Uryuu right on top of him.

"Ah, what the hell?"

"I need my other arm for Szayel. Oh, who's this?" He threw a Shinigami woman on his shoulder before grabbing the Octava.

"Why save that psycho?" the Shinigami yelled.

"Why whine about vaporizing that other one?"

"Well why am I on the bottom?"

"The human looked lighter. Now hold still. We'll be there momentarily."

After the five disappeared, two heads poked up out of the rubble. "Hey Pesche, where did they go?"

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><p><strong>Trague Mantenido= Maintained Swallow. A lot of Espada have some kind of special power like Yammy getting stronger from sitting around and eating (living the dream, man), Nnoitra's extra-strength Hierro, and Stark basically being a walking nuclear waste deathtrap for anything a certain amount weaker than him. I gave Roder this power since it goes well with his theme of a hungry predator.<strong>

**Please leave a review letting me know what you think, feel, or what grammatical/spelling errors you may have found.**


	8. Chapter 5: Planning and Executions

**Here I go, oversimplifying a complicated battle strategy. Why? Because I really wanna get through the show's Invasion Arc. To explain why it's going so much faster though, it's simply because in this fic they now have an inside man AND backup, when in the show, they were scattered, disorganized, and had no idea where anything or anyone was. So yeah, lot more advantageous now.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach is Tite Kubo's and some companies or something or another. Whatever, it doesn't belong to me, at all.**

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><p>Almost as soon as Roder had arrived back, Aizen made his announcement about trapping some captains in Hueco Mundo while he went to go do his thing. As if Roder needed anymore points as to how they were just tools for Aizen's ends. Nessiah immediately began healing the three injured people concurrently, remarking how amazing it was for the two men to have survived with so many ruptured organs and broken bones, let alone remain conscious. The other three weren't happy he had also rescued Szayel, or that he had vaporized a captain. Nemu, as they called her, seemed pretty dead, but Nessiah assured him that the spell could bring her back to life, which it did. Yggdra locked her unconscious form up into an actual dungeon cell, which was designed to negate any powers a Shinigami, Arrancar, or anything else might have.<p>

"Well," Roder said once everyone else was in place, "we should go and pick up your friend, then head out and kill Aizen before he levels your town."

"You make it sound easy," Ichigo remarked.

"Maybe if I keep it up it'll get easier. Seriously though, while I could easily get rid of Ulquiorra, I'm going to be busy dealing with whatever locks Aizen put on the Garganta."

"Locks?"

"Yeah, look." He waved his hand and a sort of distortion shown for only a moment. "It may be affecting just Los Noches though. My descorrer is working fine, so it's not that. If we want to leave we're going to need to either deactivate the locking mechanism, or exit Los Noches first."

"Uh, hello," Emelia pointed a thumb at Szayel's nearly frozen body standing in the corner.

"I would, but I don't know how well he'd take to betraying Aizen. Also, I don't know if Orihime's powers can remove poisons or any such. I'd rather not risk testing it on the best and only scientist we have."

"So we need to storm Aizen's place, rescue Orihime, and get a Garganta opened," Renji said. "Certain death and small chance of success. What are we waiting for?"

He and Uryuu stood up and tested their restored limbs.

"It's almost as if Orihime herself did it."

"Nessiah's special ability is Copio Mago **(Copy Magician)**. Any spell or energy-based power he…witnesses, he can replicate. When I saw what Orihime could do, I had him go to her and learn all that he could about her power."

Nessiah shut his giant book, how he carried it no one was certain, and grinned smugly. "Most of her abilities I already hold more powerful variations of, but some, like her fate rejection healing, were truly unique. I will treasure them always."

"Any energy-based power?"

"Don't worry about him stealing your moves. He's got more than a few that he made himself that he'd prefer. Now, we need to get a move on. Yggdra, you and Emelia will join us. Nessiah, send Kagome after us then take Inu and go to Gulcasa."

"It will be done," the blind Arrancar said before…floating down the hall.

"Now, before we go, you should know about who we'll face. Yammy will be there, but you all know about him by now. Yggdra, you take care of him if he shows up. Whatever you do, do NOT let him use his Resurreccion. If he starts to call for it, go for the neck, dig in deep, and lop it off. We need to kill him either way it goes.

"Rudbornn and the rest of the Exequias will almost certainly try to halt anything we do. Emelia, Rukia, Sado, and Renji should be able to handle them. Just remember, his Calaveras are throwaway troops. He can make more with his Resurreccion. You need to take him down before he can do so. Don't let him make a speech or gloat or whatever. If you get an opening, take him down.

"Loly and Menoly will probably not budge from taking Aizen's side. I almost feel sorry for them actually. They shouldn't be a problem so long as you don't let their Resurreccion forms touch you. They're poisonous. Very much so. A good grip and you're done. Uryuu, I trust you're good at dodging and such. I know Kagome is.

"Nnoitra shouldn't even be close to healing, and the top three are with Aizen. That just leaves Ulquiorra. Ichigo, I'm counting on you keeping him busy while I disable to locks. Just talk about rescuing Orihime and act like you're fighting him seriously to keep his focus on you. I'll join you once the lock's down. Everyone got it?"

"Right." "Yes." "Good to go." And several other affirmatives were said.

"Then let's go."

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><p>Ulquiorra couldn't say he didn't see it coming. He had begun suspecting the Sexta Espada of treachery; he just didn't expect it to this degree. He was now apparently in league with the trespassers and some of his Fracciones were helping them to attack Aizen's keep. He wasn't sure what he was planning, but sending the Shinigami he had already defeated once was a poor decision.<p>

"Hey, I think it's getting easier to see your sword while it's moving."

A very poor decision.

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><p>Meanwhile, Uryuu and Kagome were squaring off against Loly and Menoly. The Quincy was surprised that the Arrancar woman used a bow, but that surprise ended when Loly began creating a mountain out of slurs and curses, which kept increasing in frequency and creativity. 'Bitch' and 'bastard' eventually turned into things like 'dog fucking whore' and…'four-eyed bastard'. Come to think of it, the most creative ones were aimed at Kagome. Must've been a familiarity thing.<p>

"You cum-drinking fucker!" Ooh, that was new. And aimed at Uryuu. To be fair, he had shot her in the back of the knee just before the obscenity was shouted.

Kagome fired off a few arrows at Menoly, who was noticeable cursing less than her best friend and doing a better job at dodging and blocking the arrows as well. She just didn't have the vocabulary for it.

The two pincushions were now back to back facing the two archers. Uryuu prepared to fell them in one shot, when an odd, long arrow came up beside them then wrapped around them before turning into rope.

"Atadura Fletcha. Not very useful for most one-on-one opponents, but you two gave me such a golden opportunity."

"You shit-sucking cunt! When Aizen gets back, you're dead! You and your four-eyed boyfriend!"

Kagome crossed her arms. "I don't even know this guy. Inu Yasha is my actual boyfriend, idiot."

"Fuck you!"

"Shall we go?" Uryuu asked.

"Yeah, your friends should be pretty well right now."

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><p>Things were not going well. Emelia had tried to get Rudbornn while his first wave was down and before he brought up his Resurreccion, but the others seemed to have forgotten that little detail and Rudbornn swatted her aside. By the time Renji got his 'oh shit' face on and swung for him with Zabimaru, Rudbornn was in his release form and had summoned more Calaveras, many of which blocked his attack. More came and now it was a fight against the waves. Sado's El Directo tore through many of them as well as Renji's blade, but more and more kept coming. Rukia was beginning to wonder what had happened to Emelia when she leapt up holding her kanabo.<p>

"Dive in from the Heavens, Gryphon Jinete **(Gryphon Rider)**!"

Dusty wind swirled around her and then dispersed, revealing that her lower body was now like that of a gryphon's in a fashion similar to a centaur. In her hands was now a long staff with a weighted end. Red markings trailed from her eyes down to her exposed collarbone. She spun the staff in her hands to get a feel for it and looked directly at Rudbornn.

"Here's a present for you!" she yelled as she dove down hard and collided with him, ripping him from the spot where he was rooted. They hit the ground and the others could see that she was pinning his arms with her eagle-like forelegs. She spun the staff around and smashed its weighted end against his face, cracking his mask and knocking his jaw loose.

The others ran up next to her and looked him, his Resurreccion having canceled itself.

"Is he dead?" Renji asked.

"Just out cold. Roder said he would rather have him alive for everything after this. Besides, Nessiah can fix him up good as new once Roder takes over."

"You sound so sure of this."

"You just don't know him like we do. I don't know how long we were out there together, but he saved our lives a few times and pulled us together when it looked like we were all ready to call it quits. That guy's a leader. My brother looks up to him, and he was a goddamn emperor when we were alive."

This surprised the two Shinigami, but if Sado was surprised he did a good job of hiding it. Emelia got off of the unconscious Arrancar and lead their charge into the palace.

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><p>Yggdra was not having fun at all. Yammy had apparently been doing some growing while no one was looking. If her fight with Tesla could be called 'a little bit hard' then this would be 'so goddamned difficult', even if it was the same general kind of opponent; brutes with fists.<p>

She leapt out of the way of his fist and heard him laugh.

"I gotta thank your boss before we shred him. Now that you guys are fighting us I can kill whoever I want and claim they were on your side. And no one will question it." He made a bigger, more boisterous laugh and fired a Bala at her. She barely dodged out of the way and clenched her sword.

"At least I can't feel guilty about killing you. There's no crime in destroying a murderer."

Yammy raised an eyebrow. "That so? And who's gonna kill me? You, little Fraccion?"

"My resolve cannot sway. Not now, no." She lifted her sword above her head and let it go so that it floated just above her hair. It began spinning wildly; threatening to split her in half if it fell even a little.

"Join the Revolution, lead the Crusade, and bring the Jihad," her hands came back and grabbed its hilt, stopping its wild spinning, "Santa Espada **(Holy Sword)**!"

She began glowing bright white, causing Yammy to cover his face with his hand and close his eyes. When it died down, he looked back to see that she was covered from head to toe in white and silver armor, her helmet bearing protrusions resembling wings. The only parts of her that could be seen were her face and her hair. Her sword had also changed, now much slimmer, resembling a longsword with a grip that could be held comfortably with either one or two hands.

"Huh, that it? You got some armor? Fine then." He drew his Zanpakuto. "Be en-" He stopped as something blurred by his face and Yggdra stopped a few meters away from it with her back turned to him. She looked at him with a face of cold indifference and raised her sword to show that it was now covered in blood. Yammy wanted to reach up and feel his neck, but his arm didn't move. Nothing below his chin would move. He felt himself slipping forward and he hit the dirt, but his body was still standing over him. It too collapsed after a moment.

Yammy's life flashed before his eyes, and for the life of him he couldn't understand how this had happened. Yggdra calmly walked over to his severed head and looked down at him so coldly that Ulquiorra seemed warm and approachable in comparison. She held the tip of her blade over his forehead and looked forward.

"Justice," she stabbed downwards, "is served."

It had taken him quite a while, but he finally had it. The device was pretty easy to shut off and he decided to remember it for whenever he would need a lockdown himself. Once it was done, he began to make his way back up and stopped by a door he felt a faint reiatsu behind. He looked through the bars on its window.

"Oh, so this is where they put you."

The Shinigami woman looked up and grimaced. "Oh, you."

"Yeah, me. Sorry about this. I'd let you out now, but I may need to make a prisoner exchange later. You understand right?"

"I guess," she huffed. Roder began to leave when she called out, "Wait. Gin said, if anyone should come by, to tell them, "It's in his chest.""

"Huh, what'd he mean by that?"

"I don't know, but I figured no one would come by so I almost forget. But now…it's almost like he knew you'd come through here."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll send someone down here soon. Whether to free you or feed you, we'll see."

"Go kill 'em."

"Oh, I will."

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><p><strong>Like I said, I rushed that on out of the way. I know there are Yammy fans out there (I have no idea why, I liked literally every other Espada more than him, Nnoitra and Aaronierro included) so I am sorry, but he would not have been able to last through what Roder plans to do anyway.<strong>

**Next time on Tyrant Espada: Ulquiorra plays dirty, and most of our heroes get their asses kicked and then promptly handed to them. **  
><strong>Find out how next time I bother to update.<strong>

**By Thanksgiving, hopefully.**


	9. Chapter 6: Pain, Pain for Everyone!

**It's been a while since my last update (relatively), but I have a perfect excuse why I missed my Turkey Day goal. I procrastinated. And like some guy on youtube said once, 'procrastination makes perfect.'**

**Anyways, here's an action-filled scene of...action. We're slowly winding down towards the end of the first arc I'm calling the Arrancar Rebellion Arc.**

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><p>Orihime was about to fly herself and Uryuu up to help Ichigo when Emelia and her group, Yggdra, and Roder all appeared. Uryuu quickly told them what happened, that being that Ulquiorra had dragged Ichigo up and through the ceiling of Los Noches while saying something about showing him 'true despair'. Roder knew immediately what that meant and so leapt up, causing the ground at least a meter around him to contort and crack before falling away as dust. They group saw that his jump was rocketing him towards the hole in the ceiling. Orihime went back to her original plan and lifted her, Uryuu and Kagome up on her Santen Kesshun and sped off after Roder.<p>

Yggdra came up and cleared her throat at the two males left. They looked at her. "I will carry the two of you if you do not object." They nodded and she grabbed them from under their arms and leapt off after her Espada.

"Aw crap!" Emelia yelled. "Hey, Shinigami girl." Rukia pointed at herself questioningly. "Yeah, you. Is there another one that I missed? Hop on."

Rukia hesitated then sat on her gryphon-like back. Emelia sped off after the rest, quickly catching up to then overtaking Yggdra and then settling in just behind Roder and Orihime, who were neck and neck.

"What's happening?" Rukia shouted.

Roder looked back. "There is a rule that states that none of the top four Espada can use their Resurreccion or Gran Rey Cero within Los Noches, as that could potentially destroy the place. If Ulquiorra drug your friend out here, then that means he's doing one or both of those."

Everyone within earshot felt their eyes get bigger. The rest of the climb upwards was spent in a dreary silence.

As soon as they had cleared the hole, Orihime jumped off and ran towards the pillar that Ulquiorra and Ichigo were atop. She took a few breaths then stopped as she saw what kind of situation Ichigo was in.

"So you've come invaders, traitors," he looked down at Orihime, "even you, woman. You're just in time. Here is the man to whom you've entrusted all your hope." He lifted a single finger and it sparked. "Bear witness as his life comes to an end." The spark became a dark orb.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And then there was darkness.

A beam that radiated darkness, rather than light.

Fired through a man's chest.

"Damn," Roder muttered. He hadn't suspected this. In fact, he was pretty certain that that wasn't even Ulquiorra's Resurreccion. Apparently, he had not been the only one to hold back his power.

Ulquiorra's tail unwrapped from the dead Shinigami's neck and let him fall from the tall pillar. Orihime immediately sent out her shield to catch him. As she desperately ran to his body, Ulquiorra suddenly appeared before her.

"Damn, it's like watching a puppy getting kicked," the Sexta mumbled.

"What do we do, Roder?" Emelia asked.

"I need the rest of you to stand back. I'm going to try and talk Ulquiorra over to our side if I can and beat the hell out of him if not. Orihime can still fix that Shinigami over there, and I'd rather have Ulquiorra for our fight and the takeover afterwards."

"I told you, it's useless-"

"Ulquiorra Cifer!"

The Cuatro looked over to see Roder. "Oh, it's you, the traitor."

"Saying I'm a traitor implies I once had loyalty."

"So then, it was your plan from the start, to wait until Aizen was unaware and off in the world of the living to strike and overthrow him?"

"In a way. I had to put most of the details together later, but in the end and from the start, his destruction has been my goal."

"I see. And how do you plan to go about this, Sexta Espada?"

Roder chuckled. "I've seen your Resurreccion before. This isn't it. You've been holding back, right?" A wave of monstrous spiritual pressure could be felt. Even Ulquiorra was surprised at the raw power he sensed. "You aren't the only one who suppressed their power away from Aizen's eyes."

Roder lashed out, not with his tonfa but with his bare fist. It collided with Ulquiorra's shoulder and suddenly the Espada was sent spinning through the air and through the base of a pillar, causing its collapse. Ulquiorra righted himself and felt his feet scrape the ground before tumbling backwards and finally stopping in a three point stance. He tried to catch his breath and looked at his left shoulder, which had ruptured and become displaced.

"See, my plan hasn't been to get to where I could overpower Aizen, or even surprise him. It's been to catch him as isolated as possible, so that I don't cause too much collateral damage. I want to take control over Los Noches and the Arrancar and destroy as few of them as I can in the process. Tell me, if I can disable this form of yours that is beyond Resurreccion without even a weapon in my base form, then how much of a chance does anyone else stand?"

Ulquiorra glared at him with the closest he could come to anger, which was more like annoyance on his face. "Disable? I'm afraid you are mistaken." And then suddenly his shoulder burst into repair, reknitting flesh and resetting bone shards. He rolled his repaired shoulder to test it and looked forward at his opponent. "You see, my greatest ability does not lie with my strength, but rather with my regeneration. I can regrow most any part of my body parts except for my brain and internal organs."

"Ah, I see. But you can still feel pain. You can still be beaten into unconsciousness."

"If you can defeat me, then there will be no point in fighting you any further. Show me this resolve of yours then. How badly do you really want to depose Aizen?"

Ulquiorra pointed a finger at Roder and began summoning another cero oscuras. Roder responded by biting the tip of his tongue and creating his lime green gran rey cero. The two beams meet each other and exploded into a pillar of flame. The combatants rushed each other, Ulquiorra dodged a fist aimed at his jaw and raked his claws against Roder's body. Small droplets of blood flew and he started to move to the side and a small cube left the furred tip of his tail and entered the hole over Roder's now exposed stomach area. Too late Roder noticed the caja negacion activate and envelope him.

"Are you kidding me?!" he shouted before being fully wrapped in.

'That was a most backhanded tactic, but I can't defeat him. It is good that I kept that with me. Now I need to get rid of the rest of them, lock that woman up so she can't heal them, and warn Aizen before he breaks out. It may take the full power of me and the other three Espada he has with him to stop Tyranus.'

As Ulquiorra was formulating his plan, two forms flashed on either side of him. Both loosed arrows on him before flashing to another location and firing again. Ulquiorra simply swatted them away with his wings. The Quincy appeared straight above him.

"Licht Regen!" Ulquiorra was suddenly showered by the hail of blue arrows.

Just outside of the dust cloud forming, Kagome aimed a single arrow that was glowing intensely enough to mistaken for a supernova. "Depuro (Purify)!"

Uryuu appeared a few meters away from Kagome and both waited and listened while the dust cleared. When Ulquiorra could be seen clearly again, he looked almost completely unharmed other than the small amount of steam rising from the back of his left wing.

"Looks like your attack did some damage to him," Uryuu said to his fellow archer. "Can you use it again?"

"Depuro takes a moment to charge up and a lot of energy. I can probably use it four more times, five if I strain enough for it."

"Not nearly enough in others words."

"I'm surprised," Ulquiorrra said. "Here I was thinking that you were the calmest of the humans, and that you were the least rash of all Tryanus's Fracciones."

"This isn't rash," Kagome said, pulling back her bowstring and summoning another arrow. "We can't beat you alone, but we aren't alone, are we?"

At that moment, Ulquiorra sidestepped and watched as a segmented blade crashed down where he had just been standing.

"A sneak attack? How-"

Suddenly Yggdra was upon him, thrusting her longsword rapidly. "Revolucion!" Some of the thrusts punctured skin, but none went very deep. She drew back her sword and swiped upwards. "Cruzada (Crusade)!" White energy erupted from her blade and washed Ulquiorra in the glow. The Espada leapt out of the blinding light with a few scratches. He looked over himself, mildly impressed.

"You are far more powerful than you've let on. You could be an Espada in your own right, yet you follow Tyranus?"

"Tyranus has never led me astray before. I may be powerful and a good leader, but he is a leader amongst leaders. Besides, his goals and mine are the same. His planning is just much better than my own."

"I see. His Fracciones hold many surprises, it seems." Emelia sonidoed behind him and brought her staff down, only for it to be blocked by his tail. "Not too many surprises though." He whacked her away with the tail and caught Zabimaru as it was swung from the side then pushed it backwards with enough force to wrench it out of Renji's grip. He moved to attack, but was forced to dodge out of the way of one of Rukia's ice attacks. He tried finding her, but then an energy attack came from Sado.

'They are too numerous. I need to take a few of them out temporarily so that I may fight more effectively.' His eyes fell on Uryuu. 'That one.'

He focused on his target and did the minimum needed to avoid being damaged as he locked in on the Quincy's speed. When he was certain he had him pinned, he dashed forward and caught Uryuu by the left arm. The Quincy was mortified, then screaming in pain as his arm was ripped off at the elbow before being knocked away from the Espada.

'He will be unable to fire without both arms.'

"Uryuu!" Rukia yelled as she went to assist him.

'That one.'

As the Shinigami woman went to help her ally, she felt pain running up her back and looked to see Ulquiorra holding up his claws with her blood on them. She couldn't feel her legs, or anything else below a certain point.

"I seem to have cut deeper than I intended," he calmly said as the now paralyzed girl fell forward.

"You bastard!" Renji shouted at the top of his lungs as he swung Zabimaru with all of his strength. Ulquiorra saw the attack coming and backhanded the sword, causing it to shatter and send a shockwave up Renji's arm. The Shinigami cried out in pain, holding just the hilt of his sword and one segment.

"What will you do with that, I wonder?"

"I'll show you what I'll do," Rennji growled. "Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!"

Ulquiorra watched as the skeletal snake-like weapon came at him then raised his hand and pointed, firing a cero oscuras directly at it from point blank. The cero traveled over the weapon and hit its wielder, who shouted in pain and rage as the attack burned and knocked him back. Sado punched at him, but Ulquiorra caught his fist in his hand and head-butted him hard enough to render him unconscious.

Yggdra braced herself as Ulquiorra's attention turned to her. She parried his first strike at her then felt his tail hit her chestplate. She yelped as she was thrown back but recovered her footing and swung her sword up. Ulquiorra dodged the attack and lashed out again. This time Yggdra powered through the attack and swung her blade down with blue light arcing behind it, cutting Ulquiorra's arm. She swung up, orange-red light arcing this time as she scraped his chest. She held her sword up high and prepared her ultimate attack.

"Yihad Fin (Jihad End)!" She swung down and white energy burst from her blade in all directions in front of her with enough power to overtake five Getsugas. The energy was outlined in light blues, dark reds, and purples as they reached their peaks. The attack died down and Yggdra held her sword hilt while panting. The sound of clawed feet stepping towards her forced her to look up and see Ulquiorra. His wings were torn, but other than that he was virtually unharmed.

"Truly, you have power to match mid-level Espadas. It is a shame that you decided to betray us." He held up his finger and Yggdra's eyes went wide as the dark energy collected.

"Cruzada!"

Despite Yggdra's weakened state, the Cruzada was enough to keep off the worst of the cero, but she still ended up unconscious with her helmet broken in half. Ulquiorra decided that that was good enough for now and looked towards the last two. Emelia was less of a problem than even Kurosaki had been, but Kagome Kikyo had yet to use her Resurreccion, and he had no idea what it was like. However, it seemed like he would soon learn as she unstrung her bow and twisted its bowstring around her left hand.

"Purify," she clapped her hands together as if to pray, Joya de Cuatra Almas (Jewel of Four Souls)!"

Light purple-pink light shone from her for a moment before revealing her form that had changed from the look of a simple shrine maiden to one more ceremonial in appearance, with huge sleeves that reach he knees even as her hands were held in a praying fashion and red hakama. Her circlet mask fragment was replaced by one that resembled a hitaikakushi. Her bow was gone and instead what was wrapped around her hand was necklace with a round pinkish jewel.

"Ulquiorra, this is the last chance I'm going to give you. Surrender."

"Do you think you can make me surrender, Fraccion?"

"I really don't want to do this. Purification should always be the last resort." She held her free hand upturned and a disk of pink energy shimmered into being above it. "I don't see any other way with how everything's going though." She threw the disk.

Ulquiorra didn't feel much energy in the projectile. He held up his hand to stop it, but it passed straight through his hand and part of his neck. His fingers fell, severed from his hand, and blood spurted from the deep wound on his neck. He put his uninjured hand to the wound as his eyes widened. "How…?"

"I said I would purify you. Balas de purificacion do not cut or burn or break. They purify whatever they pass through into pure reishi. And they take whatever shape I wish." An orb of pinkish energy shimmered into being and fired itself from her palm. Another one formed as soon as it shot and went after it and so on in rapid succession. Ulquiorra dodged out of their way and began taking evasive maneuvers as countless orbs and disks tried to purify his body, aomw skimming the ground while others flew through the air until they canceled themselves. Kagome was not tiring or relenting in the least as she continued to rain a bullet hell upon the Espada. While she tried to make it as random as possible, Ulquiorra was starting to see a pattern in her attacks. Soon, he disappeared and she let up.

"Where-" An open-palmed strike met her face and sent her tumbling a few meters away. She held up her hand and made to fire more balas de purificacion, but nothing came. She was confused for a moment, then started in wide-eyed shock when saw what was in Ulquiorra's hand.

"I realized that your attacks would fire wherever you aimed this small jewel." He held up the jewel to his eye-level and observed it. "I can feel the power radiating from it. It's enough to compare to even Aizen's Hogyoku. Such power should not be held within the hands of a mere Fraccion."

"That- That jewel has belonged to me and my past lives for over half a millennia! Return it to me!"

"I think not." His tail flung up and swatted her face, causing her to collapse on the ground. "I may not know how it is used, but you do. I will not leave a powerful weapon in the hands of my enemy."

Emelia gritted her teeth as Ulquiorra's attention turned towards her.

'Damnit! I gotta hold out alone! I just need to keep him here until Roder gets loose. I don't need to really fight him, just keep him away from everyone else and focus on my defense. Focus, focus, and don't let him near the injured.'

"You are all that's left. Clearly you are nowhere near as strong as Tyranus's other Fraccion, yet you still seem resolved to fight me."

Emelia let loose a nervous chuckle. "Well, they got a lot of hits on you. Surely you're weakened up enough I could beat you even."

Ulquiorra scoffed. "Such foolishness. I will break that resolve of yours, and show you what kind of trash you truly are."

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><p><strong>Ulquiorra had to call someone trash at some point.<strong>

**Now, if you folks would be so kind as to leave me a review and let me know what you think it'd make me feel oh-so-special.**

**Next time on Tyrant Espada; Hollows get pissed and shit blows up. Also, Orihime cries instead of using her god-like powers to kill and/or fix people.**  
><strong>Read all about it next update.<strong>

**Not gonna lie, pre-Christmas is being generous.**


	10. Chapter 7: Ichigo Does That Thing

**Big apologies to everyone. I am extremely lazy and forgetful, so while this chapter has been finished since before Christmas I'm posting it just now.**

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><p>Orihime had been watching in silent horror as each of her allies were taken down by Ulquiorra one by one. After Roder had been sealed away, it had just kept getting worse and worse with each passing moment. Now only Emelia-chan stood in his way, and Orihime knew that she couldn't possibly last against him. She gripped her head as she fell further and further into despair.<p>

'What should I do? What can I do?'

Emelia cried out as she was launched back. Her staff had been snapped in half, leaving her with a stick and a mace. Orihime tried to form a shield to protect her, but Ulquiorra calmly shattered it with a swing of his tail.

'Kurosaki-kun, help me, please!'

Emelia tried to get up and out of the way, but Ulquiorra's tail whipped around, knocking her through the air and forcing her out of her Resurreccion. She ragdolled against the ground and remained motionless as Ulquiorra stepped over her, towards Orihime.

"Help me, Kurosaki-kun!"

A sudden downpour of violent reiatsu appeared. Orihime looked behind her a saw a monstrous being with white skin, black stripes, sharp teeth, and horns.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime said quietly.

Ulquiorra looked over at the new presence. "Impossible."

"Is that…the Substitute Shinigami?" Emelia said while wincing in pain. "What the hell?"

"Not possible. A human cannot simply become a Hollow."

He heard a laugh and looked over to see Kagome barely lifting her head.

"Just…where the hell did we all come from then? He was a human. Human's go to one of three places when they die."

Ulquiorra ignored her. That was not how these things worked. He slowly walked forward and faced the new being.

"Who are you?"

The thing didn't respond.

"Did you not hear me? I said who are you?"

Suddenly the creature telepathically pulled Kurosaki's sword to it and swiped downwards, causing sand to fly away in one direction and a screaming Orihime to fly into the other. Emelia sonidoed behind her and caught her before she got hurt.

The Hollow creature screeched into the air, a sound of pure and unbridled rage. Ulquiorra was preparing himself to destroy it when suddenly a crack in reality appeared and started growing. A fist broke through, followed by the attached arm and a masked face. Another battle-cry resounded from Roder as he fully broke free from his imprisonment. Emelia couldn't recall ever seeing him as angry as he was at that moment.

"Goddamn it all, Cifer! That was about as low as you-" He stopped and looked at the Hollow creature. "Who are you?"

"He will not answer."

"Be quiet, I'm still mad at you! Now who are you, Vasto Lorde?"

The creature did not respond with words, it simply dashed forward and swung its blade with another rage-filled cry. Roder blocked with his tonfa, barely pulling it out in time. The creature did not miss a beat as it sped by him and swung at Ulquiorra, who dodged. Ulquiorra jumped backwards and aimed his cero oscuras. The Hollow responded by forming a cero of its own between its horns and firing it. The resulting explosion caused several unconscious peoples to be forcibly relocated further away and created a pillar of fire even greater than the one before. Ulquiorra flew up and out of the inferno and stared in disbelief at what had just happened.

"Damn," Roder said as he floated up to and next to Ulquiorra. "Just who the hell is that?"

"Some kind of Hollow that has seemingly taken over Ichigo Kurosaki's body."

"How in the hell did- Look out!"

Too late the Hollow had grabbed Ulquiorra's arm and sliced it right off. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the power of the creature became apparent. Real time was brought back by the Hollow using Ulquiorra's severed arm as a bat and Ulquiorra himself as a ball. The Cuatro hit the Sexta and both fell down to the ground. The beast screamed out again as though claiming some kind of victory.

Ulquiorra took a second to catch his breath, and then his arm grew back.

"Thank goodness for high-speed regeneration, heh?"

Ulquiorra merely grimaced and looked back at their opponent, who was standing still. He put his hands together and summoned a green energy weapon.

"Lanza del Relampago." He twirled it and aimed. "Do not move. Stay right where you are. If possible, I'd rather this not go off close to me." He threw it. It sped through the air and went right by the Hollow's head, close enough to make its hair wave out a little. The energy spear kept going until it landed a fair distance away, and exploded, dwarfing Los Noches with its size. The shockwaves could be felt by everyone still conscious on the dome.

"You missed," Roder pointed out as though it wasn't obvious.

"It's difficult to control its trajectory." He summoned another one.

The Hollow disappeared and reappeared behind Ulquiorra and swung his sword. Ulquiorra barely blocked in time and was sent backwards by the force as stone and sand was sent flying. Roder leapt out of the way and struck forward, but was blocked by the Hollow. Roder began punching in rapid succession, but each blow was blocked or parried. The Hollow reared back its sword and swung forward, and Roder barely got his arms up in time to block the slash. Roder began charging a cero and the Hollow responded by doing the same. Roder sonidoed right behind the Hollow just before he fired, hitting the creature at point blank.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime yelled.

Roder looked over to her. "It's all right. I'll beat out whatever the hell took over him, and then you can just patch him up, okay?"

Before she could respond, a red light shone and then the Hollow's cero slammed into him. The Hollow cried out again before Ulquiorra appeared behind him and stabbed forward with his lanza. The Hollow turned and caught it in his bare hands and then crushed it, causing it to disperse. Before Ulquiorra could recover or move, the Hollow slashed him from shoulder to hip, leaving a deep gash and severing part of his horn. The Cuatro fell back and grunted in pain.

"Damn it all. I never thought it was possible…to be defeated by a hollowfied human. It's completely…ludicrous."

The Hollow stamped down on Ulquiorra's head and began chagrining a cero aimed right for his fallen body.

"I should've known…there'd be no mercy. So typical of a Hollow. Go ahead. I lost to you. My life no longer has any meaning. Do it."

As the Cero began firing, a fist collided with the Hollow's face, turning its head and making the cero fire off into the distance. The Hollow looked at its attacker as it stumbled off of Ulquiorra. Roder growled inhumanely at him.

"You're really starting to piss me off!" The hollow growled in response and the two charged each other.

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><p>Ulquiorra lay on the ground, seething at himself. 'Damnit. If only my organs he cut would heal. I can't regrow them, but…if I could just…repair them.' Something glinted in the corner of his eye and he turned his head to see Kagome's jewel glowing faintly. Suddenly, he felt his organs healing, as well as the gash he had received.<p>

'The jewel's power. Is it activated simply by the bearer's will? Fascinting.' He stood up and observed the orb more closely. 'I think there's more to this thing than simple empowerment. Still, now that I understand how it works…" He looked to where Roder and the Hollow were battling. "…this should work."

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><p>Roder tried to clamp down his jaws on the Hollow's sword, but it punched his face, forcing him away.<p>

"Damnit, why is this so difficult?" The Hollow kicked his chest then roared at him. 'I can't release any more power. If I do that I could bring down the entirety of Los Noches and risk killing way too many people. This thing has to have a weakness. I just need to find it.'

The Hollow charged him again and slashed at him. He blocked then decided to pull a risky move. He let his tonfa go and grabbed onto the creature's wrist. He quickly reached with his other hand and grabbed a hold on its other wrist.

"Got you now!" The Hollow head-butted him, but he didn't loosen his grip. He tightened his hold and the creature roared in anger before chomping down onto his shoulder. Roder yelled in pain then clamped his teeth around its horn and started trying to pry the Hollow's teeth from him. As the teeth finally loosened, Roder saw Ulquiorra appear with his fist reared back and glowing pink. Wait, pink? He swung his fist forward.

'Not me. Not me!'

It collided with the Hollow's face, shattering the mask and launching it away. Ulquiorra's arm ruptured up to the elbow and fell apart in pieces. The Hollow/Ichigo landed on the ground and Orihime ran over to him with tears.

'Whew, not me!' "Damn, that was hard. What happened while I was away?"

"I am unsure. One of your Fraccion had a theory, but it's absolutely absurd."

"Ah, okay." Roder brushed off his shoulder and sheathed his tonfa. "You weren't planning to keep Kagome's jewel were ya? It's part of her, so it'll return to her when she leaves Resrruccion."

"I'm done with it now." His arm regrew. "However, I believe you have proven that you are far stronger than me. I won't help you against Aizen, but I won't try to stop you either. It would be pointless."

"That's fair, I guess." Roder observed the carnage around him. "I'll need to modify my plans a little. For one, I'm leaving Orihime here for now and for express purpose of fixing up all the guys you wrecked."

Ulquiorra said nothing, then both looked over when something started happening to Kurosaki's body. The material that had made up his mask and covered his skin was now swirling around. The material flowed into the hole on his chest and suddenly he was healed. The boy started gasping and feeling his chest like he expected it to have a hole there.

"That…"

"Did the Hollow just use whatever was left of it to bring him back to life? Does this have something to do with that mask power of his?"

Ulquiorra blinked a few times then left his Resureccion. Ichigo looked over at him once he was back in base form.

"Hey, you're not going to fight me?" the teenager asked.

"There is no longer a point. I will simply wait here and guard Orihime until either Aizen or Roder returns."

Roder looked at him with a smirk. "Orihime? Don't you mean 'woman'?"

Ulquiorra glared at him. "There are many women present. I would not get people confused about which woman I meant."

"Sure. All right, Ichigo, are you ready to go?"

"Eh, yeah, but what about everyone else?"

"I'm afraid they're a little too under the weather at the moment."

"I'm fine, Tyranus-sama."

They looked over to see Yggdra walking towards them. She was singed in some places on her armor, but overall perfectly fine.

"You're sure?"

"Yes. When Ulquiorra knocked me out, it gave me time to take a nap and regain my energy," she lied.

"Uh huh? Well then, I think that's all I can really count on at the moment. The top three shouldn't stand in our way too much. Stark is a friend of mine, so he'll hopefully just step back. Barragan hates Aizen's guts, so I'm practically counting on him. The only one I'm really afraid of getting in our way at this point is Harribel. But if I can match whatever Ulquiorra was doing...,"

"Segunda Etapa," the Cuatro supplied.

"Yeah, that. Well, she should be a cakewalk even if I don't release. Ichigo, you'll be keeping off any Fracciones. Yggdra, same."

"Right."

"Good." He opened up a Garganta. "Let's go kill 'em!" He leapt in.

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><p><strong>Everything is about to be flipped around. At this point, I've learned not to even thin about guessing when I might next update. Just know that I will. Eventually!<strong>

**Next time, Aizen gets punched, a lot.**  
><strong>Barragan gets shafted.<strong>  
><strong>The Shinigami get confused.<strong>  
><strong>And far away, Xcution basically sit around doing nothing.<strong>

**Also, I have two other fanfictions cooking up. Would people prefer to see **

**A. Argonian Dragonborn in Mass Effect (Some mods included)**

**B. Another "instead of Saito..." FoZ story**


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